Undercover
by theladyknight
Summary: AU "Sora, you will be our inside informant, posing as Ms. New York…" She's not the beauty pageant type of girl, but NYPD officer Sora Takenouchi will do anything to join the FBI, including pose as a beauty queen and put up with a new blond boss...updated!
1. The Mission

Undercover

By theladyknight

Summary: Sora Takenouchi is one of the finest investigators on the NYPD. However, when the FBI asks her to help out with a special case, Sora finds herself undercover somewhere she never imagined: the Ms. America contest! And what's with this new blond partner she's supposed to work with?

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

A/N: Another new story idea…okay, I ripped it off _Ms. Congeniality,_ but it'll be VERY different than the movie, and I'm hoping it'll turn out well. Sorato with other pairings currently undecided. Please R&R!

Chapter 1: The Mission

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…

Ruby eyes shot open, and a girl in her early twenties yawned. _7:00__ Monday morning, time to get up for work._

She stood up and stretched, heading for the bathroom to get ready. While many people hate their jobs, she loved hers and loved going to it each day. The woman turned on the bathroom light and started a shower before shedding her clothes and stepping in.

Fifteen minutes later she emerged feeling refreshed. She got dressed in a pair of khaki cargo pants and an NYU sweatshirt. Pulling her wet hair into a ponytail, she walked downstairs and picked up an apple before leaving for her job.

For most people, this would not be appropriate work attire, but never once in her young career had Sora Takenouchi been reprimanded for her choice of clothing. One year out of NYU, Sora found herself one of the finest investigators on the NYPD. But this came as no surprise to anyone who knew her, particularly her best friend and coworker, Tai Kamiya.

From the time she had entered middle school, Sora knew that she wanted to devote her life to stopping crimes and keeping peace. When she was eleven, a group of men robbed her mother's flower shop and killed both her parents, who had tried to stop them. Sora had moved in with the Kamiyas and vowed to keep this kind of thing from happening to others.

Fueled by this burning desire, fantastic grades, incredible stealth, and a quick mind, Sora had no problem making her dream a reality.

Tai had to work a lot harder to join Sora, though. He too wanted to be an investigator but didn't have quite the mind his best friend did. Luckily for Tai, he had an amazing knack for memorizing facts others overlooked, as well as strong leadership skills.

The two had entered the department after college and climbed the ladder together. They were in the same department and sometimes worked together on investigations.

Sora walked the five blocks to the police station and checked her watch. _7:45__, right on schedule._ She pushed open the door and walked into the familiar work setting.

"Hey Sora!" one of the secretaries shouted.

"Hey Joyce." The redhead answered, continuing on toward her cubicle. She paused, however, at the space next to hers upon seeing three familiar faces.

"The jelly filled kind is the best, no question!" Her best friend said through a mouthful of donut.

"No." another voice added. Sora looked at her friend Izzy Izumi, a computer mastermind and genius. "I have to say the cream filled ones are my favorites."

A blue-haired man shook his head while munching on a cinnamon roll. "I have to disagree. Nothing beats a plain, simple cinnamon roll," Joe Kido, the medical expert, replied.

As Tai reached for what she assumed was his fifth or sixth donut, Sora decided to make her presence known. "You guys are the reason there's a stereotype about policemen and donuts."

Tai turned around. "Hey Sora!" he studied her outfit. "Izzy mark down another day with the same type of outfit."

Sora flicked the two off as Izzy made a tally on a piece of poster board. "Just because I choose not to wear overly feminine clothes…"

Joe smiled knowingly. "We've heard the lecture before, Sora. You're still a girl even though you would rather where pants than skirts and have a lot of guy friends."

She glared at him. "Thanks Joe. Now while you guys continue stuffing your faces, I have an important meeting with Chief and the head of the FBI to attend."

Sora had received very high praise for the many cases she had cracked, and rumor had it, the FBI wanted her to work for them. She had helped them out a few times before and secretly was hoping they would ask her to join them.

Tai began coughing as he choked on the donut in his mouth, and Joe clapped him on the back. "Well, Sor, you're not the only one meeting them this morning."

"What? You're going too?"

"As am I."

"Me too."

Sora looked at the three. _Wonder what's so big that they're invited as well._ "You guys might want to clean up a little before we go." She said pointing to the mess they had made over Tai's desk.

"No problem," the brunette said, brushing all the crumbs into the garbage can.

Sora rolled her eyes. "Come on, we're going to be late!"

The group of four walked down the stairs into the large boardroom where staff meetings were held. Sora pushed open the door, and they all walked in, seeing three other faces.

The face of Chief McCarthy was very easily recognized. He was a tall black man with a booming voice and heartwarming smile. Chief McCarthy was like a second father to Sora, taking her under his wing when he saw the potential she possessed.

Seated next to him was an older man in a crisp black suit that looked as though it had just come from the dry cleaners. His eyes drifted back and forth between the new arrivals and, when they stopped on Sora, offered her a faint smile. He was Agent Jones, head of the FBI and someone Sora had come to know. The man was a no-nonsense kind of guy who did not tolerate crap from anyone.

Beside him sat a man Sora had never seen before. The man appeared to be Sora's age and was dressed also in a crisp black suit, though he wore dark sunglasses over his eyes. His slightly long blond hair was gelled and spiked and contrasted the black he wore. _He's not bad on the eyes._ Sora looked at the man, and he gave her a smirk. _But looks aren't everything, especially with men. And anyway I don't have time to get involved with some guy; I've got other things to worry about._

The way Sora looked at things, work was her life. She didn't have time to date and get involved with a guy and instead preferred devoting her time to this work. It wasn't like she had never dated; she just didn't make men a priority. At this point in her life, by her philosophy, love wasn't on the schedule. _I'll save romance for sometime in the future when I have nothing else to fall back on._

Chief McCarthy signaled for them to take a seat though he remained standing. "I have a strong feeling you are all wondering why you were called here today."

"Yes, sir." Izzy answered.

"Before I begin, I would like to get some introductions out of the way. We have Tai Kamiya, Izzy Izumi, Joe Kido, and Sora Takenouchi, four of the NYPD's most well-trained investigators." He said, pointing at each individual. "This is Agent Jones, the man who called this meeting and head of the FBI." He paused and gestured toward the blond. "This young man is Agent Matt Ishida who will be a part of the mission you all will soon be informed of."

"Mission?" Sora interrupted before she could stop herself. "Sorry."

Chief McCarthy smiled. "I'll let Agent Jones explain the details."

He took a seat as the older man stood. "As you may know, each year there is a Ms. America pageant in which ladies from over the U.S. compete for the crown. We have yet again been asked to provide security to the event but after recent incidents, have been asked to step in to a greater extent."

Tai raised a hand. "What kind of incidents?"

"The pageant this year will be held in Texas and officials running the event have been receiving some threatening letters in the mail. However, things got worse as one of the stage hands was murdered at the hands of the 'Beauty Queen Killer' as we have labeled him or her. All this has been kept secret from the media, and we would like to keep it that way." His eyes flashed dangerously.

"Sir, if I may ask…what is this greater extent we are going to go to?" Joe asked.

"We are assuming this 'Beauty Queen Killer' will be striking at the pageant and would like to prevent a disaster before it could happen. Agent Ishida will be heading up this mission directly from the site, and each of you will be working on a different area of the investigation with him. One of you will be examining the evidence, looking for signs of DNA or other little details that could match it to potential suspects." Joe smiled, knowing this was his task.

"Another person is in charge of studying the premise and knowing every detail about people, the area, and other important information." Tai nodded to show he understood.

Agent Jones began pacing back and forth. "The next person is in charge of running an extensive computer network and keeping tabs on our informant, 24/7." Izzy nodded his head and smiled.

"Informant?" Sora guessed but received no answer. _They're hiding something…_

"Finally, we need someone strategically placed to be the eyes and ears of the operation."

The realization hit Sora like a ton of bricks. "No! No, no, no, no, NO!" she exclaimed as everyone faced her.

Agent Ishida smirked. "Face it, sugar; you're the only one of us that could pass for a contestant."

"Don't even say it!" Sora threatened, not bothering to chew him out for calling her sugar. _I've got other things to worry about then nicknames!_

Agent Jones sighed, expecting this response from her. "Sora, you will be our inside informant, posing as Ms. New York…"

A/N: So what do you think? I won't know if you don't review!

Theladyknight


	2. Mission Accepted

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

A/N: **UPDATE....12.18.08** Yes, I am alive. Yes, I am working on the final chapter. Yes, I'm going to sit myself down to work on it. I'm currently going back through and reading what I've written so far to give myself some more ideas for the final chapters, as well as getting rid of the obscenely large number of grammatical errors I had in this. Oye.

Chapter 2: Mission Accepted

"No!" Sora shouted. "Absolutely not! Why can't someone else do it?"

"Sora, you were chosen because of your skills and training." Chief McCarthy explained, somehow managing to stay calm. _I knew she would react like this._

"Like hell I was! You guys only chose me for this because I'm a GIRL!"

"Wow, who would have ever thought you were a girl?" Agent Ishida remarked sarcastically.

"Here comes the rant." Tai whispered to Izzy and Joe.

Sora stood up and walked in front of the blond. "First of all, just because I don't wear tight little clothes and spend hours of time on hair and makeup doesn't mean I'm not a girl! Second, you males have no idea how much harder we women have it…"

"Sora, please sit back down!" Agent Jones demanded. The room grew silent, and Sora complied. "Sora, I will give you an ultimatum: either accept the mission and after it's over, join the FBI or don't join the team and don't join the FBI. It's up to you."

_Damn it! I should have known he had something like this up his sleeve. As much as I don't want to compromise my beliefs and views about feminism, I've been waiting forever to be asked to join the FBI. This will be fulfilling my dream. And I don't want that cocky Ishida to think he's gotten the better of me. _"Fine. I accept."

Tai's mouth dropped. "You're going to do it?"

"Yes," Sora answered, staring straight ahead at Agent Ishida, "I'm not going to let anything stand in my way of joining the FBI."

Agent Jones flashed a rare smile, and Chief McCarty let out a sigh of relief. He would definitely miss Sora on the NYPD, but knew she'd be a tremendous asset to the FBI. Meanwhile, still in shock, Tai and Izzy both handed Joe twenty dollar bills, apparently losing some sort of bet.

Agent Ishida watched the ruby-haired girl with a smirk plastered on his face. _I had a feeling she would say that. I think I'm going to be enjoying this mission._

"Now that we're all on the same page, I will explain the details of this operation. In two weeks time, the Miss America Pageant will be taking place in San Antonio, Texas. Sora will be posing as Miss New York and through the combined efforts of the rest of you, we will catch the Beauty Queen Killer before something happens."

"How exactly are you going to get me in as a contestant? Doesn't New York already have one?"

Chief McCarthy took the floor. "Agent Jones asked us to run a background check on her, looking for something that would disqualify her from the pageant. Had we not found something, we would have run searches on the rest of the contestants. However it seems Miss New York had appeared in a couple of adult movies and has given up her crown. You are now Miss New York."

Joe raised a hand. "Are you going to be giving Sora an alias because this Beauty Queen Killer could do some digging."

Agent Ishida pulled out a set of documents and set them down in front of the redhead. "You are no longer Sora Takenouchi." She glared at him. "Say hello to Sora Lynn Rodgers."

"Sora Lynn?" She raised her eyebrows. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"Like it or not, sugar, that's the way it goes."

Sora stood up again so she and Agent Ishida were looking at each other almost face to face. "If we're going to be working together, I think we should establish a few grounds rules, like, I don't know, don't ever call me sugar. If you do, you will regret it."

"Are you threatening me?"

She smirked. "It's not a threat…it's a promise."

He gave her a sly smile in return. "Whatever you say."

Agent Jones pounded a fist on the table. "Now that you two are done flirting, we'll move on. We have a lot to cover."

"I wasn't flirting with him! He was flirting with me!" Sora defended before turning to the blond. "And please do yourself a favor and stop. If you're trying to impress me, you're not doing a very good job."

"We'll just see if you think that later." He murmured for only her to hear.

"As I was saying," Agent Jones was not in a good mood, "tonight you will fly out to San Antonio. Tai, Izzy, and Joe, you will be flying out of LaGuardia Airport while Sora, you and Matt will be flying out of Newark."

"Why's there a difference?" the lone female asked, cursing her luck for getting stuck with the man.

"The Miss America Pageant officials have made it clear that they will be requesting FBI backup. We are assuming that the Beauty Queen Killer keeps up with the news and either he, she, or a group of helpers will be looking for any person associated with the FBI. We want you guys to appear to be nothing more than tourists. That's the reason we split you up," Chief McCarthy explained.

"A jet with supplies has already taken off to a secure site and will be arriving shortly. You will be responsible for finding your own transportation and lodgings for the night because the San Antonio force is not expecting you. They'll have everything set up and places for you to stay every night after that. I could call them and make arrangements for you, but I would like you to get familiar with the city. When you arrive at the secure base, you will receive more instructions on everything. Good luck. Chief McCarthy and I will be monitoring your progress from here."

"What time do we leave?" Tai asked. "And what all do we need to bring?"

Agent Jones stood up. "I'm glad you asked. Tai, here are the tickets for your group. Give them to someone reliable to keep." Tai immediately handed the tickets to Joe, knowing he would lose them if he kept them himself. "Everything is listed on the tickets. Keep in mind that you'll need to change your watches when you arrive because Texas is one hour earlier than us. As for what to bring, all weapons, computer material and such has already been brought down. Bring what you would if you be heading on any other trip."

Chief McCarthy also stood up. "I think that should be everything. You four," he said pointing to his four employees, "are free to go. Go home and get your things ready. I have a feeling this will be quite an interesting mission. Good luck to all of you." _Especially to you Sora.  
_

Sora walked out the room and followed her three friends toward the door. She could hear them merrily talking and laughing as they made their way outside. They had all already teased her about the arrangements.

"Can't wait to see you in a dress." Tai joked.

Izzy had nodded. "Yeah, and high heals; that should be interesting."

"Don't forget her special talent." Joe added, making them all laugh.

"Oh," Tai added, an evil smirk grazing his lips, "and have fun with Agent Ishida. And Sora, please try to behave yourself, in more than one way." Sora caught what he was getting at and kicked him, hard. "Ouch! Damn, let's get out of here before she breaks my leg! See you in San Antonio!"

"Dumb asses." The redhead murmured. As she was opening the door, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Here."

She turned around and glared. "Yes?"

"Here's your ticket. You might just want it if you're actually going to go through with this."

Sora put her hands on her hips. "What makes you think I'm not going to?"

"You just don't seem like a beauty pageant kind of girl to me. Something tells me you're going to crack under the pressure."

"You don't know anything about me, Ishida."

"Well, I have a feeling I'm going to be learning lots about you over the next few weeks. See you at the airport, Sora Lynn."

"Bite me, blondie." She scowled.

He raised his eyebrows and with a wave, pushed around her and left…

* * *

Sora rushed through the Newark Airport realizing she was running late. _Damn subway…I knew I should have gotten here earlier. _Clutching her ticket, her eyes scanned all around, looking for the right gate. It entered her line of vision along with another sight.

Sora walked over and stared at the blond. "You do realize you could have gone on without me. It's not like I need someone to make sure I get on by myself."

He handed his ticket to the attendant and shook his head while they headed toward the plane. "Come now, you're the most important part of the mission. It might be kind of bad if you didn't leave."

Sora rolled her eyes and kept walking. She boarded the plane and found her seat but ran into a little problem. "I get the window seat." Matt called, setting his carry-on bag down.

"No, I get it. My ticket says that's my seat."

"Fine, because I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you have the seat."

"I don't know about the whole nice guy thing." She responded, taking the coveted seat. Matt grumbled a response but nonetheless took his seat. The flight attendant went through the preflight procedures, and the pilot took off.

The flight itself was pretty uneventful. Neither Sora nor Matt, no matter how interesting they found one another, but wouldn't admit it, said much. Matt was listening to his iPod and had his eyes closed while Sora was reading a book.

Near the end of the flight, Sora had to use the bathroom. And she faced a big problem. "Ishida," she whispered nudging the man who appeared to be sleeping. "Ishida please let me out."

Matt appeared not to hear her. She fumed and was very close to shaking him awake but then realized the other passengers would stare at her if she did.

"I guess I'll have to do this the hard way." Sora murmured and began climbing over Matt's outstretched legs. As she began climbing over him and had one leg successfully in the aisle, a woman darted past her, looking very green in the face, obviously heading to the bathroom. The woman nearly tripped on Sora's foot but managed not to. Sora on the other hand lost her balance.

When she realized she was falling, the ruby haired girl had shut her eyes, preparing to hit the hard floor. Instead, she felt a pair of strong arms grab her and pull her up. She opened her orbs and found herself staring into a pair of brilliant blue eyes.

Enjoying a peaceful sleep, Matt was rudely awaken when he felt something, rather, someone bump him. He opened his eyes just in time to see the motion sick woman hit Sora's leg and Sora begin to fall. Instinct told her to catch her, and Matt Ishida was always one to follow his instincts.

Sora tore her gaze away from the eyes and realized she was straddling Matt's lap and facing him. _Wow, up close he's even hotter than I thought._ She studied his outfit. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a long sleeved black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. _And I thought he looked good in a suit…_

"Are you checking me out?" the blond asked, realizing she had been staring at him.

She scowled but felt her cheeks heat up again. "This would have never happened if you would have just woken up." Sora got up off his lap as though nothing had happened and made her way to the bathroom.

"But it was so much more fun this way." Matt answered to her retreating back.

Sora walked into the bathroom and thankfully found it free. She looked into the mirror and splashed water onto her face, completely forgetting the reason she had wanted to come in here. _God, he's so irritating! But at the same time, I'm just waiting for his comments and flirtations so I can respond to him. He's the kind of guy, the arrogant, self-centered, chauvinistic kind, I never would have found myself attracted to…but there's something about him that just kind of draws me to him. Looks aren't everything…I think there's something under that mask he puts on. It could be interesting trying to figure it out. But I'm always up for a good challenge._

With that, she decided to leave the bathroom. Sora returned to her seat and noticed the blond had moved over next to the window. _Guess I don't have to climb over him this time._

She glanced at him, and he gave her a sly smile in return. "What?"

"Nothing." Matt answered, smiling again.

"You're up to something, aren't you?" he said nothing and continued to grin. "Do I have something on my face? Have I grown another set of arms?"

"No, is it against the law for me to look at someone?" She folded her arms and sat down. "You just weren't the kind of girl I expected."

"What kind did you expect me to be? The slutty kind?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. You're like the best investigator on the NYPD. I didn't expect you to be any kind of pushover or anything, which you aren't. I just didn't assume you'd be able to match me wit for wit. We may have a few battles in the coming weeks."

She registered what he had said. "Yes, it'll be interesting to see who cracks first."

Matt gave one last grin as the pilot announced they would soon be landing. There was silence between the two for the remaining time and, as the plane landed and they checked their bags, something dawned on the blond.

"Where are we staying at for the night?"

Sora looked at him in shock. "Shit, they didn't book hotels for us, did they?"

"Glad to know you were listening."

"You shouldn't be talking," Sora retorted.

Matt checked his watch, now set to the new time zone. "It's nine thirty here. How about we just find a taxi and a place to crash for the night?"

"Sounds good I guess. Leave the taxi to me." She answered as they walked outside. Sora stuck up her hand and after living in New York City all her life, had no problem hailing them a cab.

"Where to?" the driver asked in his southern accent.

Matt and Sora looked at each other. "A hotel."

The driver raised an eyebrow. "Any hotel?"

"Yeah." Matt answered. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Naw, I can get y'all there no problem. But, any hotel? You two not make reservations?"

"Something like that." Sora responded.

"I've gotta say that wasn't too smart."

The cabbie pulled out and drove around through the night traffic, stopping at a place called, _La Mansion __del Rio_. Sora handed him his money and Matt picked up their luggage.

"Have a good time here in San Antonio. Now normally I don't do this, but if ya need anything at all, give me a call at this number. My name's Lucas and you two look like you might need some help finding things around the city." The cabbie said, giving Matt a sheet of paper with his phone number.

"Thanks." Sora answered. "We might just take you up on that offer."

With a wave, the cabbie drove off. They walked into the hotel and approached the front desk. "Do you have any rooms available?" Sora asked the woman.

She typed onto the computer. "No reservations?" Matt shook his head. "On short notice, you'll be very lucky." She scanned the listings. "No…it doesn't appear there are any." Matt and Sora's faces fell. "Wait! There is one."

"We'll take it!" the answered in unison. "No matter what the cost. Where is it?"

"It's the highest room up in the hotel, the Honeymoon Suite…"

A/N: Please review!


	3. A Guy, A Girl, and A Honeymoon Suite

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

A/N: Hello again! I'm in a great mood! School's out for five days, I get to go to Mexico this summer, and my team plays our cross-town rival in girl's basketball now this site's back up! So in celebration, here's chapter 3! Thanks to everyone who reviews! Please R&R and happy reading!

**A/N 2: 12.18.08** Yikes....forgotten how much I enjoyed this story; however, I apoligize profusely to anyone who read this story back when I published it almost 3 years ago for all the grammatical problems I forgot to take care of. Enjoy this chapter, with revisions! :)

Chapter 3: A Guy, A Girl, and A Honeymoon Suite…

"The Honeymoon Suite?" Sora repeated.

The manager nodded. "Yeah, we're booked this whole week. I'm very surprised to find an open room at all, let alone the Honeymoon Suite. Would you two like it?"

Matt and Sora looked at each other. They both knew it was the only room left, and they were too tired to go look for another. Besides, the next place they stopped at may not have anything at all.

"How much for tonight?" Matt questioned.

The lady typed furiously onto her computer. "Let's see…with tax it'll be 152 dollars."

Sora's eyes widened. _Wow…I don't know if I have…wait!_ "I'm sure you have enough money for it, Matt."

Agent Ishida saw her coy smile and knew he was caught. The manager stuck out her hand as he gave a sigh. _Damn it._ "Do you take credit cards?" the blond pulled out his wallet.

"All major brands!"

Scowling at Sora, he handed over the credit card. Matt hastily scrawled his signature on the receipt, and the manager handed him the card back. "Here are your keys. The Honeymoon Suite is the highest room up. While staying here, you'll receive a free buffet breakfast tomorrow along with access to the gym and pool. I hope you enjoy your stay here, Mr. Ishida."

Sora flashed the woman a smile as she picked up her bag, and the blond lifted up his. They headed for the elevator and the second the door closed, Matt had her pinned up against the wall.

"What the hell was that for, making me pay for the room?"

Sora smirked, though her heart was beating at the close proximity between the two. "Well maybe if you would have come up with a better name for me than Sora Lynn, I'd feel more gracious and may have offered to help pay."

As he was about to respond, the door opened,revealing a very embarrassed manager. Her mouth was hanging open, and Sora realized it was due to the position she and Matt were in.

"I'm so sorry…if I'd know you to would be…I'm…this is awkward. Here's your receipt, you left it at the desk. Um…yeah, I'll leave you two alone." She backed out quickly, and Matt leaned away from the redhead to shut the door, this time actually hitting a button.

He turned back to face the girl only to be greeted with a slap on the face. "Damn, woman! What was that for?" Matt held a hand to his sore cheek.

Sora pushed him away from her, moving to the other side of the elevator. "It's your fault she thinks we were in here making out and couldn't wait to get into the hotel room."

"Are you insinuating something about what's going to happen in the hotel room?"

She only glared at him but was very relieved to hear the elevator ding. Grabbing her bag, she stormed out.

Matt followed while chuckling to himself.

Sora checked her key for the room number and stopped in front of the right room. Her hand shook slightly as she put the key in and the door clicked open. Matt brushed her hand away, opening the door. "Ladies first, Takenouchi."

Her eyes flashed dangerously in his direction before she walked into the room. "Wow, I can definitely understand why this room costs so much."

Matt whistled as he too stepped into the room. _Not bad._ There was a king-sized bed, big screen TV, and table and chairs in the bedroom. The bathroom came equipped with the normal features, but in addition to a shower, featured a large Jacuzzi.

The blond set his bag on the bed and took a seat. "This is my kind of room!" The next thing he knew, his bag was lying on the floor.

"Sorry, Ishida. You're sleeping on the loveseat. The bed is mine."

Matt stood up and faced the girl. "I paid for the room so I get the bed."

Sora smirked at his sly look. "But I'm the one who's going to be in the beauty competition. I'm going to need to be refreshed and relaxed so my training begins well tomorrow."

He glared at her. _I'm not sleeping on the loveseat!_ "Why don't we both sleep in the bed? It's definitely big enough for the two of us."

"But it's obvious you're attracted to me. You might try something," Sora stated.

"I'm not attracted to you. You're the one who's attracted to me. You might take advantage of me."

The redhead snickered. "You only wish! I am so not attracted to you!"

Matt grinned. "Well if you're not attracted to me and I'm not attracted to you, we can sleep in the same bed!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" He repeated triumphantly. "Now that that's taken care of, I'm going to go to the gym."

"You do that." Sora answered sarcastically, giving him two thumbs up.

The blond rolled his cerulean eyes. Matt walked into the bathroom to change clothes. _Okay, so maybe I told a little white lie when I said I wasn't attracted to her. But I was not going to sleep on the loveseat._ He grabbed a pair of baggy blue sweatpants and a gray t-shirt with the words "THE WOLVES" in bold letters.

Matt picked up a few towels and his room key before hanging up his black shirt on a hanger and putting his jeans back in the bag. He tossed the bag over into the corner next to the Jacuzzi and left the room. "I'm be back in awhile," he called to the redhead, who was busy watching TV.

Walking out the door, he rode the elevator down to the floor the gym was on. He was the only one in the room, but it didn't bother him too much.

Agent Ishida was used to solitude. His parents had divorced when he was about six. Matt had been placed in his father's custody while his younger brother T.K. wound up with his mom. Matt's father was rarely ever home because he devoted a great deal of his time to his work. The blond hardly ever saw the rest of his family. It had been almost six years since the last encounter with his mother and T.K., and that had been at Matt's high school graduation.

Back in high school, no one in the school would have ever imagined Matt Ishida as one of the most respected FBI agents. At the age of sixteen, he was on the fast track to fame with his own rock band, "The Wolves," and it was obvious that he would live a life of fame and luxury. But that reality came crashing down during his senior year when "The Wolves" drummer and his family went missing while they were on a camping trip. Their dead bodies were found a week after they were reported missing, mangled in a ditch outside of town.

The deaths struck Matt hard. He had never been one to show much emotion, but something there struck a nerve. The idea of innocent people being killed and their murderer never found haunted him, especially because it was one of the few people who actually knew him well who was killed. Matt then made a drastic career change. With the band dissolved, he took up an interest in law enforcement, hoping to make it into an ivy-league school.

The blond had always had very high grades and academic background. He spent the rest of his senior year immersed in his studies and was rewarded with an acceptance letter to Harvard. Financially he was fine too, as his grandfather on his mother's side gave him quite a graduation present.

Now,six years out of high school, and almost a year out of Harvard,Matt Ishida was content with where his life was. Just as his father, Matt was devoted to his work. He began at the FBI directly out of Harvard, after partaking in their internship and later fellowship programs, and had gradually worked his way up the ladder. His life centered on his work. He pushed other things in life behind it, including relationships. Of course he had his friends, but he had never really grown close to any of them. That included relationships with women. He had no problem flirting, and hell, Matt could probably get any girl he wanted with his looks, but he chose to remain single. He had had a few short relationships, none lasting too long. Matt had yet to meet the girl who would change his life.

_But have I? What is it about her that makes my heart beat every time she says something? She has no problem matching every sarcastic comment with one of her own and can always seem to keep me on my feet. And she's not afraid to piss me off. Her beauty doesn't hurt either. What is she doing to me?_

Realizing the gym was ready to close, he shut of the treadmill he had been running on. The blond wiped his forehead and arms off, using both the towels, and throwing them in the dirty hamper next to the door. He decided to head to the vending machine to get something to drink before going back to the room.

"Shit." Matt murmured, reaching into his pocket and finding no wallet as he approached a machine. "It's in my jeans pocket. I'd better head up to the room and get it…"

* * *

Meanwhile, after finding nothing of interest on television, Sora decided to take a nice relaxing bath in the Jacuzzi. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door. The girl started the jets and stripped, before climbing into the warm water.

The cinnamon-haired woman sighed. _Oh yeah, this is by far the best part of my day._ The jets began shooting bubbles, and Sora slouched down so only her head was showing. She thought back to her conversation with Agent Ishida. _Okay, maybe I wasn't being completely honest when I said I wasn't attracted to him. I don't know why I feel this way about him. There's something about the way he acts and the hard exterior he bears that makes me think it's just a cover up. I wonder what's up with him._ Sora closed her eyes, intent upon brushing the thoughts away for the time being and enjoying her nice bath…

Matt walked back into the hotel room and didn't find Sora there. _Maybe she went to get something to eat._ He made his way over to the bathroom and could see the light on. Trying the door, he realized it wasn't locked. _Well, she's not in here. Guess I left the light on too._

Sora's peaceful bath was interrupted as she heard footsteps in the room. _What the hell?_ She opened her eyes and shrieked. "Ishida, what are you doing!"

Matt's eyes widened as he caught sight of the girl. "I left my wallet in my pants pocket," he explained, eyes glued to her, though he was trying his hardest to look away.

"Well would you kindly grab it and get out of here!"

The blond snapped out of his trance and nodded. He slowly walked over to his bag, right next to the Jacuzzi, taking his good old time.

Sora fumed. _He's doing this to aggravate me! If only I could get him out of here!_ The girl looked around for something to use to get him out of there and finally found it. She reached and arm out and hit him with a wash rag.

Matt turned around, kneeling down so he was at eye level with her. Their eyes connected and didn't want to leave. Smirking, Sora picked up the washrag again, this time hitting him square in the face. "Get out."

He bent down to his bag and finally grabbed his wallet. He held it in front of him as proof and before leaving the room, went around picking up all the towels. With a wave of his hand, he shut the door, taking the wallet and towels with him.

"Dumb ass!" Sora shouted.

"Lock the door next time, sugar," He yelled back.

She collapsed back into the Jacuzzi. _He is in for it big time. But I'm not surprised something like that happened. What am I supposed to do…there aren't any towels._ Sora's eyes flashed around the room looking for something she could use as a towel or robe. Finally she found it. She climbed out the Jacuzzi, dripping water all over the floor, heading for her new robe. _This should work just fine…_

Happy with herself, she walked into the bedroom at the exact same time Matt walked into the room. He dropped his water bottle the minute he saw her, spilling the water all over the floor. "Damn it! Why the hell are you wearing my shirt?"

_The tides have turned. I have the upper hand._ Sora looked down at the long black shirt Matt had been wearing earlier that was very large on her. "Well, considering you took all the towels, I needed something to use. I figured this was the next best thing. Tell me, where do you shop? This is a nice shirt."

"How about you give me back my shirt?" Matt demanded, mad at himself for leaving her something to use against him.

"How 'bout you let me change first?"

Matt smirked and sat down on the bed. "Go ahead, change."

"How about you leave, and I change?"

"Fine, I'm going to take a shower. I expect my shirt back when I'm done." He picked up the stack of towels he had taken with him and walked into the bathroom.

Sora didn't dare remove the shirt until she heard the sound of the door locking. Taking one last breath of his cologne, she pulled it off after laying her pajamas and undergarments out. She frowned as she put the top on. _I never imagined I'd have to share a room with him. Too bad I didn't bring a different pair of pajamas._ Her clothes consisted of a small yellow tank top and a pair of blue short shorts from her high school soccer days that read, "Nice pass" on the butt. _Guess these'll have to do._

Sora settled herself down on the bed and turned TV on again. She finally landed on a baseball game, deciding to keep it there. In the background she heard the shower stop and minutes later the door opened.

A tan, well toned body entered her line of vision and she couldn't help but look the blond over. His pajamas consisted of a pair of long black basketball shorts, nothing more.

"I assumed we'd have separate rooms."

"Me too."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and I thought you wore that for me."

"Remember, there's no attraction."

"So if I do this, it won't bother you?" He lay down on the bed next to her, brushing his bare skin up against hers.

_A battle of wits? Two can play at this game._ "Nope." She replied, though feeling a tingle go through her body. She rolled onto her side so she was facing him. "It doesn't bother me at all." The girl stretched and her tank top revealed even more of her athletic body.

Matt bit his lip._ Don't stare._ "So if there's no attraction, it doesn't change anything between us if I do this…"

Sora was unprepared for what happened next until it actually happened. Matt captured her lips and slowly kissed her. She couldn't believe it and wanted to push him away…_or I could play along with this and trap him again. That would be much more fun and…enjoyable…_ She closed her eyes and returned the kiss harder.

The blond was shocked. _I didn't expect her to do that. I expected another slap. Wait, why am I complaining?_ Matt kissed her with more passion and brushed his tongue against her teeth. She surprised herself by letting it in as the kissing grew steamier. He flipped her onto her back and ended up on top of her. They made out for a few minutes more, and Sora finally pulled away.

"I thought you said there's no attraction." Matt panted.

"There's not." Sora lied.

"Then why'd you kiss me back?" he asked.

Sora laughed. "I was letting you savor the moment because that's the only time you're ever going to get a kiss outta me. Next time, well…"

"Ouch!" Matt winced as her fist hit his cheek again. "What was that for?"

"That's what you'll be feeling if you try to kiss me again. And that was for calling me sugar."

_We'll just see about that._ "Touché."

Sora crawled out from underneath Matt and shut off the TV. She glanced up at the clock. 10:30. "Well, I think I'm going to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

"I agree." He pulled back the covers and climbed in. Sora walked over to her side and climbed in as well.

"What time do we have to meet everyone tomorrow?" she yawned. _Guess I'm still on __New York__ time._

"I think they're going to call us." He shut off the light. "Night, Takenouchi."

"Good night, Ishida."

Sora rolled onto her side but didn't feel comfortable. She then rolled onto her stomach, but couldn't fall asleep. Matt groaned as she shifted again. "Would you stop that, please!"

"I can't get comfortable," she defended. He rolled onto his back and feeling cold, pulled the covers to him. "Don't hog all the covers!"

"I'm cold."

"So am I!"

"Well stop rolling around; it's driving me crazy!"

"Stop hogging the covers then cause it's bothering me!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They both sighed and thought the same thing: _This is going to be a very long night…_

A/N: Please review. Next chapter Tai and the others show up along with a few more of the Digidestined…


	4. Mission Begins

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

A/N: Okay, I lied. I said "Game of Life" would be my last update of the year but then I posted a new sorato fic "Rediscovering Destiny" and now I'm updating this! Lol! Well, here's chapter 4. Things start to pick up, but I'll let you read to see. Thanks to everyone who reviews! Oh and a few people have mentioned this is like the Card Captor Sakura fic "Butterflies": I've never read it (I haven't watched very much CCS anyway), and I didn't borrow any ideas from the author of that fic! (Just to clear things up) R&R and enjoy!

**Ages: **Joe (25), Matt (24), Sora (23), Tai (23), Izzy (22), and others will be listed when they're introduced in the later chapters!

Chapter 4: Mission Begins

Matt groaned as a loud rattling woke him up from his very peaceful sleep. He didn't know if it had been jet lag from the flight or something else all together, but he enjoyed a nice rest.

The blond thought if he just ignored the sound, it would eventually stop. But the knocking did no such thing. _Who is trying to wake me up at __6:30__ on a Tuesday morning?_ He looked over at his clock. _Wait, this isn't my room. Where am I._ Matt tried to get out of bed to answer the door but couldn't.

He was stuck.

Agent Ishida looked down to see a pair of arms around him and a head lying on his chest. His arms, in turn, were wrapped tightly around the redhead's athletic body. _Great, as if I need another reason to be attracted to her. We must have fallen asleep like this._

Matt tried to think back to how they'd wound up like this, but he was drawing a blank. He remembered he'd been cold, and Sora couldn't stop rolling around. Somehow, she must have decided his chest made the best pillow, and he felt her body gave just the right amount of warmth. Now, as he rubbed his eyes, Matt realized that they were in the middle of the bed, tangled up in the sheets and with each other.

The knocking grew louder and more frequent. Matt knew he'd have to find someway to get up and answer the door, though he could've stayed there without any problem.

He pulled his arms away and after some hard work, managed to free his legs. Gently, so he wouldn't wake her, Matt removed her arms from around him. Then he grabbed a pillow and placed it under her head. The blond rolled out from under her and set her head and the pillow on the bd. _Finally._ He rolled over to get off the bed but miscalculated his timing and distance.

"Ouch. Damn it." Matt cursed as his nose hit the carpet, and he was lying on the floor. From the bed, he could have sworn he heard Sora make a sound, but when he stood up, she was still sleeping.

Groggily, he walked to the door and looked out the eyehole. Matt was greeted by three men, and he knew immediately who they were because one of the men had gravity defying hair. _How'd they figure out we were here?_

The blond yawned and walked over to the loveseat. He moved the pillows around and grabbed the blanket that had been resting on it. He ruffled the blanket around to make it appear he'd been sleeping there.

Finally, right before he decided to open the door, Matt walked over to the bed and tucked the blankets around the redhead. As he did this, her bangs fell onto her face, and he brushed them away, taking a moment to admire her beauty.

The knocking snapped him out of his trance, and the blond blushed as he headed over to the door. _I can't fall for her!_

"What the hell took you so long?" Tai demanded. Matt opened the door, and the three investigators walked in.

Joe whistled. "Nice place." His gaze landed on the bed and Sora's sleeping body. "Oh, are we interrupting something?"

Matt glared. "What would give you that idea?"

"I don't know, maybe the fact Sora's sleeping very peacefully in the bed, or maybe because you're only wearing a pair of shorts," Izzy mused.

Tai laughed. "You're forgetting the most obvious thing: this is the Honeymoon Suite! What do you think people do here in the Honeymoon Suite?" He hopped onto the bed. "And I thought you were the genius, Izzy."

"Funny, everyone, but why are you here?" The blond was known for having a short temper when he wanted to.

"We got a message from Agent Jones, and he told us where we're supposed to be at 7:30."

"You couldn't have just called because?" Matt answered, walking over to the loveseat and laying down.

"Because," Tai stated again as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "this is so much more fun!"

He bent down to Sora's ear and whispered something in it.

The redhead shot up. "Taichi Marvin Kamiya!"

"Marvin?" the three men echoed.

The brunette winced. "Well, other than that part it was fun."

Sora didn't look too amused. "What are you three doing here?"

Izzy cleared his throat. "Chief told us where the base is and that we need to be there by 7:30."

"Where's that?"

Joe smiled. "You'll see when we get there, and we'll all find out what the plan is for today."

Sora fumed. She was not a morning person when she had been rudely awakened. The redhead had been having a very peaceful sleep. Well, she had been sleeping until she heard the knocking on the door. However, Sora decided to let Matt answer it. She had had a good laugh watching him try to get out of the bed and then fall on his face. Luckily, he didn't realize she was only pretending to sleep. But something still lingered in her mind. _I can't believe he brushed the bangs out of my eyes. Why did he do that?_ "How did you guys find us? There are a lot of hotels in San Antonio."

"Well, I figured it out quite easily." Tai boasted.

Izzy hit him on the back of the head. "I figured it out, stupid. Tai just wanted to go to every hotel and knock on every door. Then he decided we should eat breakfast at each place while we were at it."

"Well I take it you didn't go with bushy's solution." Matt mused, stretching over on the loveseat. Sora caught his gaze and smirked at him. _Nice nickname._

"I just hacked into the computer at every hotel in the city. I thought it would be hard, but it was really quite easy." He began rambling off in computer terms.

"Yo, Izz, stick to the point," Sora motioned for him to continue.

"Sorry," the man flushed. "Well, I saw Matt's name on the list and we found out you guys had rented one room, the Honeymoon Suite."

Tai gave Matt a sly smile. "Nice, Ishida. Did you two have an enjoyable night?" he snickered.

"I slept on the loveseat; she slept in the bed. Do the math." Matt lied.

Sora had to bite her lip, silently thanking him for lying. "How'd your flight go?" she asked the boys in an attempt to change the subject.

"Simply marvelous," Taichi replied in a snooty voice, "you know how much I love airline peanuts."

"How about yours?" Joe asked her, rolling his eyes as he recalled how Tai had worked his way through 10 bags of the rather stale peanuts.

"I've had better ones. I had an idiot in the seat next to me, though." Her eyes flashed in Matt's direction.

He smirked at her. "I'd say the only idiot was the person who tried to climb out of her seat and tripped."

Tai snickered. "You tripped when you tried to get out of your seat? What happened to the graceful Sora I once knew?"

She glared at him and got out of bed, walking over to the loveseat. "You're one to talk, Ishida. At least I didn't go out and buy water, walk into a room, and then drop in onto the floor."

Izzy, Joe, and Tai, as much as they were enjoying this little sparring match, decided to leave before things blew up. They had all seen Sora angry before and had a feeling that anger was about ready to greet Matt.

"Well, we'll just go wait in the lobby so you two can get dressed." Joe waved and headed to the door.

"I'm right behind you buddy," Izzy answered.

Tai hesitated for a moment. "Well, c'ya guys. I'll be in the breakfast area."

He shut the door and walked out. That's when things blew up. "You have some nerve, Ishida! What have I ever done to you?"

That caused him to chuckle. "Let's see…where should I begin?"

The redhead flushed. "Okay, nevermind that statement. At least I didn't fall out of bed this morning and land flat on my face."

It was the blonde's turn to blush. "You saw that? I thought you were sleeping? Why didn't you wake up so I wouldn't have had to go through all that work?"

"It was more fun this way," she smiled innocently.

Matt snapped. He tackled the girl to the bed and they began wrestling around. "You made me put up with your stupid friends while you pretended to sleep."

"My friends aren't stupid!" Sora fought back and flipped him over. "At least I have friends."

"I have friends too, Takenouchi." He rolled her over and pinned her legs to the ground. He trapped her arms above her head and lowered his face to hers. "And thankfully none of them act like your friends."

"What's your problem?" she spat back. "We don't even really know each other and then you get all defensive and close up. What's your problem, Ishida?"

"I don't have a problem."

Sora put on a pensive look. "Uh, yeah. You do." Mustering all her energy, she pushed him off of her and flipped him onto his back. "So why don't you give up the tough guy act and just open up to us? We might want to be your friends if you didn't act like such an arrogant bastard."

Matt looked at the girl sitting on his stomach. "My personal life would be none of your business."

"Well face it, blondie; we're going to be working awfully close to each other for the next two weeks. You're going to have to face those demons eventually, and it just might be easier to face them if you have friends by your side."

Their eyes locked and stayed together, not looking away. Sora could see the coldness and darkness in his eyes, and he could see the fire and strength in hers. "I don't have time for this. We're going to be late if we don't get changed and down to the lobby."

He pushed her off of him but caught her before she could fall off the bed. The blond grabbed his bag and walked into the bathroom, allowing Sora the privacy of the room. _Yeah, but if you don't want us to be your friends, then why did you just catch me, Matt?_

Sora quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. She brushed her hair up into a ponytail and grabbed her toothbrush, waiting for the blond to come out of the bathroom. He emerged a few minutes later, looking just as hot as he had the previous day. Sora looked him over once out of the corner of her eye before heading into the bathroom.

When she arrived back in the main room, they both finished packing up their bags in silence. It was incredibly quiet in the room and neither would look at each other.

"Do you have everything?" Sora finally broke the silence.

He nodded. "Do you?"

"Yeah." Matt picked up the room keys, and they headed out into the hallway and elevator. That unnerving silence stayed with them until they reached the front desk.

"Did you two enjoy your stay?" the manager asked as Matt handed him the keys.

Sora forced a smile. "Yeah, the room was really nice."

The lady grinned. "I'll pass your words on. If you're ever in need of a room again, please stop here!"

"We'll keep that in mind." Matt answered as they looked around the lobby. "Where are they?"

Sora rolled her eyes. "Just listen."

Matt gave her a quizzical look but immediately understood.

"Izzy, look! You can make your own waffles!"

They headed into the breakfast area. "Tai can find food anywhere."

"I picked that up."

The blond and redhead entered the area and their eyes both widened when they saw everything on Tai's plate. "Where does he put all that?" Joe wondered as he saw Matt and Sora walk in.

"Guys, we're going to be late if we don't get moving!" Izzy exclaimed.

"But I haven't even finished half of what's on here!" Tai whined. "Do you think they have doggie bags?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Matt mumbled to no one in particular.

Tai looked up and saw the other two had joined their group. "Took you guys long enough. What, were you getting in a second round before it was time to go?" He gulped immediately, obviously regretting saying that.

Matt, Izzy, and Joe all winced as Sora walked up to the brunette…

* * *

"My poor face." Tai murmured as they walked into the old abandoned warehouse. He was clutching his right cheek where Sora had decked him very hard.

Matt glared at him. "You deserved that."

When the blond turned around, Tai stuck out his tongue and mimicked, "You deserved that. Dumb blond."

"Glad to see you guys!" a voice exclaimed. The group looked around now that they were out of the base's entrance hall, and all admired the settings. An elaborate computer system was decked out; there were vending machines, a snack bar, weights, and all sorts of technological wonders.

Izzy bumped into Joe as he looked around. "Wow, I'm very glad we signed up for this job."

"You're telling me. Look at the forensics office! Oh, there's a lab too! This is going to be awesome."

"I'm glad you all got here. You're right on time." Sora giggled when she saw the speaker. "Do you find something funny?" the guy asked.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry; you just look a lot like Tai over here when he was younger."

"Okay…" the younger guy trailed off. "I'm Davis Motomiya with the San Antonio Police Department. Agent Jones called us up and asked to send a few men down here to get your supplies set up and to help out with the mission. Who would you all be?"

"I'm Matt Ishida, head of the operation." Davis bit his lip nervously. _Remind me not to get on his bad side._

"I'm Tai Kamiya and the...spy, I guess. I'm in charge of collecting all the little details."

Izzy smiled. "I'm Izzy Izumi, and I'll be running the computer networks."

"Joe Kido, nice to meet you. I'll be working in the forensics lab and studying the evidence."

"I take it you're the contestant then." Davis faced the lone girl and nearly backed away when she glared at him. _Wow, she must be PMSing or something._

"Unfortunately that's me. I'm Sora Takenouchi."

Matt smirked. "Come now, I think it's time you practiced your new name, Sora Lynn Rodgers."

Tai looked between the two of them. "Can we all just get along?" he turned to Davis. "It's nice to meet you, Davis. Do you know what are plans are for the day?"

He nodded. "We're going to head down to the Majestic Theater where the pageant is going to take place. Agent Ishida and Ms. Takenouchi are going to have a meeting with the head of the Miss America Pageant. Mr. Kamiya, you'll be learning about the judges and different people, and Mr. Izumi and Mr. Kido, you'll be setting some bugs up in the theater."

Izzy looked between Sora and Matt. _This could be interesting…_

**-Majestic Theater-**

The San Antonio Police had provided a few cars for the group to use, and upon arrival, were in shock when they first saw the beauty of the theater. _Nice place._ "So, where are we supposed to go first?" Joe asked.

"Inside. They said there'd be someone to meet us there." Davis replied.

The group walked inside and marveled at the design of the theater. "This was definitely a nice choice to host the pageant." Tai stated.

"I agree." Izzy answered.

"So where's this person at who's supposed to meet us?"

"Taichi Kamiya? I haven't seen you for ages. And Sora and Izzy are with you too!"

Tai, Sora, and Izzy's faces all blanched at the sound of the name. "Mr…Mr. Fujiyama?"

"What's up with them?" Matt whispered to Joe.

"I think he was their old teacher."

"What are you doing here?" Sora whispered, still in obvious shock.

"I'm the head of the Miss America Pageant."

"But what do you know about running a pageant?" the three answered in unison.

Mr. Fujiyama grinned embarrassedly. "Not a thing."

"Then how did you get put in charge?" Matt replied, a bit rudely. _Great, we could use a person who understands what he's doing and help us catch the Beauty Queen Killer. Instead, we get stuck with some old teacher!_

The man smiled. "I retired from teaching the year Sora and Tai graduated. I then began working on little management projects and got involved with the Pageant. Well, voila! Out of the blue, they asked me to run the pageant…said the lady who was in charge had had it up to here." He motioned to his head. "So I volunteered. What brings you guys in the neighborhood?"

Izzy sighed. "It's a long story. Matt, Davis, Tai, why don't you explain it to him. Sora, Joe, and I will look around. We'll meet you back here in a little while."

"That sounds like a great idea."

"It does?" Tai answered, raising a fist in Izzy's direction.

"Of course it does." Sora beamed at the computer genius. "See you guys in a bit." She pulled Joe and Izzy in the opposite direction. "You just saved the day, Izzy."

"I don't want to be around anymore than I have to, either."

Joe chucked. "Aren't you guys being a bit overdramatic?"

"You have no idea."

"Okay then…" Joe tried to keep a straight face. "How about we all split up and look around?"

"Sounds good to me." Sora answered. They each went off in a different direction, and Sora found herself heading towards the stage. _So this is where I'm going to be in a couple of weeks. I still can't believe I got roped into doing this. I'm not a girly girl! There's no way I'll even begin to make it past the first round. Hell, if they see me they won't even want me in the competition…_

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't realize there was someone standing in front of her until she hit him. "I'm sorry," the first thing she noticed was the flash of blond from the guy's hair, "Ishida?"

He abruptly turned to face her and set down the notepad and pen he'd been writing with. "Ishida?"

"I'm sorry." Sora apologized again after studying the man. He was a few years younger than her but the blond hair and sapphire orbs reminded her so much of Matt.

There was a gasp behind her. "Sora?"

The redhead faced the noise._ Oh my God!_ "Kari?"

The younger girl hugged her friend. "I haven't seen you forever! What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story." Sora answered. "What about you?"

"I'm taking pictures for the paper, and T.K. is writing up an article about the Beauty Queen Killer." Kari saw the confusion on the older girls face. "Oh, it's something with the Miss America pageant, which T.K. is writing about as well." Sora still looked confused and it hit Kari. "Stupid me, Sora this is T.K. Takaishi. He and I both work internships at the paper. We go to school up at the University of Texas but are currently working summer jobs at the San Antonio paper."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Sora Takenouchi. Kari's older brother Tai is my best friend. Kari and I have known each other for quite some time. I lived with her family for awhile, after my parents died." She didn't know why she told the blond that, but she already felt like he was someone who she could trust.

"I'm sorry about you parents, Sora. That's kind of the same thing with my family, only my parents divorced. I have a question for you though. Earlier you called me Ishida…"

"Sorry about that. You look exactly like one of the guy's I'm here with."

"What's his name?" T.K. asked slowly.

"Matt Ishida. Why?"

The blond gave her a grin. "Matt's my brother…"

A/N: Please review! I know I said I'd have Mimi in this chapter but there wasn't any room for her. I promise she'll be in the next one. Hope you guys enjoyed it and have a Happy New Year! Now I'm off to eat lunch...


	5. Meetings

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

**A/N: 12.19.08 **Another chapter done! I realize now, 3 years older than I was when I originally started this work, that events in here may be completely illogical or implausible. That's the beauty of fiction, though, ladies and gentleman. I'm leaving about 98 percent of what's written, changing very few minor details and nothing that will affect any plot development or future events that have already transpired over the next 9 chapters!

**Ages: **Joe (25), Matt (24), Sora (23), Tai (23), Izzy (22), Kari (20), T.K. (20) and others will be listed when they're introduced in the later chapters!

Chapter 5: Meetings

Sora stood in shock as her mind registered what the young blond had said. _Matt's my brother._ "You've got to be kidding me!"

T.K. looked a bit offended. "Matt's not a bad guy."

Sora quickly held up her hands. "I'm sorry it came out like that, T.K. Matt and I haven't exactly gotten off on the right foot. I was just a bit surprised. He's really not a bad guy. You two just seem so different."

The blond smiled. "Don't worry about it. I don't blame you for being a bit shocked. Our parents divorced quite a long time ago, and I haven't seen Matt since his high school graduation."

"Wow that had to suck." Sora paused. "I guess I don't really know either of you that well, but you seem so friendly and carefree while your brother is the opposite."

Kari looked between the two and knew the subject of T.K.'s brother was a sore topic. In the short time she'd known the younger blond, the girl had only heard his brother brought up twice.

"Matt's had some bad things happen in his life, starting with the divorce. But it's not really my place to say. You'll have to ask my brother if you want to know."

The redhead pondered the words. "I have a feeling I'll be asking him sometime soon. Thanks for telling me, T.K."

"No problem."

Deciding a new subject was greatly needed, Kari cleared her throat. "So what are you doing here, Sora?"

"Oh, well…I'm here for the Miss America Pageant."

Kari began laughing, and T.K. gave her a very odd look. "Why's that so funny, Kar?"

The girl covered her mouth with a small hand. "Sora is the last person I'd expect to see at a beauty contest. She's never been one for dresses and makeup. She'd rather be hanging out with the guys then shopping with the girls."

"Hey, Kari, I forgot to tell you that in addition to Matt being here, Tai is too." It was Sora's turn to change the subject.

The younger girl gasped. "Really? That's kind of funny now that I think about it. I mean, isn't it a bit of a coincidence we're all here at the exact same time? Maybe some unknown force brought us here, and there's a reason we ran into each other."

T.K. grinned at the thought. _I don't know where she comes up with some of this._ "Sora, if it's no trouble, could you possibly take me to my brother? I'd really like to see him."

"I was expecting one of you to ask. Of course, let's go."

Kari grinned and took T.K.'s hand. "This is so awesome! You'll finally get to meet Tai. Though I'll warn you in advance, he can be a bit overprotective at times."

Sora listened to the exchange between the two and smiled. _Awe, that's so cute. _"T.K., don't worry about Tai. If he gives you a hard time, just let me know."

"Is it safe to assume the two of you are dating?"

Sora stopped walking, and the blond walked straight into her. "Tai's too close of a friend to even think about dating. I love the guy to death, but he's like the brother I never had and Kari's like my sister."

"So do you have a boyfriend?"

"Are you hitting on me?" Sora asked incredulously. His face turned bright red, and Sora winked for the younger girl to join.

Kari nodded and facing her boyfriend, planted her hands on her hips. "Am I not good enough for you, Takaishi?"

"No…Kari…what I meant…ahh!" his face was still crimson, and he refused to meet either woman's eyes.

They both cracked up. "We're only teasing you."

The boy let out a sigh of relief, and the sweat that had begun to form on his forehead slowly vanished. "To answer you question, no, I'm happily single."

"Happily?"

"T.K., stop talking. You'll only dig yourself into another hole," Kari warned. The boy immediately quieted.

They heard talking in the distance, and Sora laughed when the girl next to her gasped. "What is it with all the familiar faces?"

"Be glad you never had him for a teacher," Sora answered dryly. Mr. Fujiyama was talking to Matt, Davis, and Tai. _I hope they didn't get the birds and the bees talk._

"Oh, Sora, you're back." Her former teacher stated. "And you brought visitors!"

"Huh?" the group all turned around to face Sora and the two new arrivals. "T.K.?" "Kari?"

Tai and Matt looked at each other and then back at their siblings. "How do you…what are…wait!"

"Hey, Tai," Kari let go of T.K.'s hand and walked over to her brother.

"Matt," the two brothers faced each other, "it's been a long time." Sora curiously watched them.

"Yeah, T.K…what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for work. What about you, Matt?"

"Same reason." The older blond ran a hand through his hair. "Teeks, wow, I don't know what to say."

The boy grinned. "It's good to see you too, Matt."

"Is it just me, or has Matt become a completely different person?" Joe asked as he and Izzy rejoined the group. Sora knew she wasn't the only one who could tell the difference.

Indeed, it appeared Matt's personality had done a 180. The man was suddenly…alive. Sora noticed how his eyes seemed to glow at the sight of his brother and how his stoical self disappeared, replaced by a man who finally would show some emotion.

"Um, not to be rude or anything," Izzy raised a hand, "but could we possibly get some introductions out of the way? I'm Izzy Izumi."

"Joe Kido."

"I'm Kari Kamiya, Tai's younger sister, and that's T.K. Takaishi, Matt's younger brother and my…boyfriend."

"YOUR WHAT?" Tai's voice echoed over and over in the empty chamber before dissolving.

T.K.'s face blanched as the older boy approached him. "Leave him alone, Kamiya."

"Stay out of this, Ishida. I don't want little blondie dating my sister!"

Matt stepped between them and smirked. "I don't see anything wrong with them going out. I'm sure your sister is much more civilized than you."

Tai snapped and raised a fist in the blonde's direction. However he was stopped before he could even come close to hitting Matt. Everyone gasped at the sight before them.

"Taichi Kamiya, grow up! There's nothing wrong with the two of them dating. T.K. is a really nice guy, and you should not take your frustrations with Matt out on him! Don't judge him because of that!" Sora towered over the brunette who lay on his back, staring up at her. Everyone stared at her, shocked at the words out of her mouth. Matt's blue orbs caught her inferno ones. _I can't believe she just did that._

"As much as I hate to interrupt," Mr. Fujiyama cut in, "I believe you came here to meet with me. I'll talk with Mr. Ishida and Ms. Takenouchi in my office and call the rest of you up soon. Please follow me."

Matt and Sora both followed, and not bothering to turn around, the girl called out, "Tai, be nice to T.K. If you're not, I'll be sure to hear about it."

The brunette who had slowly been moving towards the younger blond groaned. Tai took a seat on one of the couches and glared at the boy…

* * *

"You do know I can fight my own battles, as can my brother."

Sora glanced at the blond next to her. "I don't doubt that at all. But at the same time, Kari's like my little sister. I think she made a good choice with T.K., and Tai shouldn't let his thickhead get in the way."

They were trailing a bit behind Mr. Fujiyama. "At least we agree on something. Well, two things really: there's nothing wrong with T.K. and Kari dating, and Tai's a stubborn ass."

The blond was very surprised when Sora let out a light laugh. "He isn't always, but he can be a stubborn ass. This is a prime example."

"I guess we're in agreement then," the blond murmured mysteriously as they reached the office and followed the man in.

"I'm going to get right down to business, you two, because we are running short on time."

Sora raised an eyebrow after sitting down in a chair and watching Mr. Fujiyama lock the door. "But isn't the pageant in two weeks?"

The man gave a nervous laugh. "That is correct, but the opening meeting will be taking place two hours from now. Am I correct to assume you are our Miss New York?"

"Unfortunately. Though Matt does have the whole pretty boy look going for him, I don't think he'd pass as a girl."

The blond rolled his eyes and faced the former teacher. "I assume Gennai's here and waiting for her."

"That would be correct, Mr. Ishida. Gennai has brought quite a few helpers due to the lack of time, and when I informed him of the situation and," he paused, glancing at Sora, "circumstance, well…he said he's up for a challenge."

The girl coughed and folded her arms. "I am in the room. You don't have to refer to me like I'm an inanimate object."

Sora grinned in satisfaction as the pageant director offered an apology but immediately frowned as Matt mouthed, "But it's so much more fun this way."

"Bite me blondie," she grumbled when Mr. Fujiyama turned his back to grab a file folder.

"Just mark the spot."

The man returned before Sora could respond. _He thinks so cute and clever._ "Contestants began arriving last night and the official kick-off of the pageant begins in two hours. Sora, you are going to meet with the man we were referring to, Gennai. He will be training you for each individual stage of the competition. He is very accomplished in the field of beauty competitions. He's going to teach you everything you need to know and then some."

"In addition," Matt took over, showing his role of leader, "Gennai will prep you on the information for your alias. You will need to keep up that role all the time around contestants. And when you are around these other women, try to befriend some. Learn about them but don't worry about all the details because that's Tai's job."

"Gennai will also be the one responsible for your makeover." The director added.

Sora's mouth fell. "I have to get a makeover? Since when was this part of the job description? No way in hell!"

"Damn it, Takenouchi," Matt snapped, eyes trailing her body, "it's not like he has much to change anyway! Genani's just going to make you appear as if you really are a beauty queen instead of the girl next door. He's not going to do anything drastic! Stop being so stubborn."

Their eyes looked and met in a staring contest, one that was sure to go on for quite awhile. "I called your associates and they're on their way. Matt, after I address you all, I'd like you to take Sora up to Gennai's suite."

"Of course," his eyes looked away, and the door opened.

"Nice digs, Mr. F!" Tai laughed.

The man cleared his throat. "Because the contestants are all arriving very shortly, you will need to stay out of sight. They've been informed extra security will be put into play, but we do not want them to panic. Please feel free to stay in the room adjoined to my office. I have to greet the contestants, but I'll be up to fill you in afterward. Matt, you and Sora should probably get going."

"I'm not going," the girl answered defiantly.

"Look, Takenouchi, we don't have all day. You have to be down there."

Sora glared at Matt. "I don't know how to act!"

"Gennai'll prep you."

"Who is this guy? And again, though I knew it was coming, what's he going to do to me? You told him I was a challenge!"

"Sora, please." Mr. Fujiyama interrupted.

"No."

"Okay," Matt paused, "we can either do this the hard way or the easy way. Take your pick."

Sora didn't move, and the next thing she knew, she was upside down. "Ishida, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm doing this the hard way. I'll be back soon." The blond had picked the girl up and thrown her over his shoulder. He held onto her feet so she wouldn't kick him, but her hands beat against his neck.

Matt walked out the door with Sora still struggling, and Mr. Fujiyama faced the group of laughing adults. "I take it they don't get along that well…"

* * *

"Ishida, put me down!"

He winced. _I'm going to have a lot of bruises tomorrow._ "This is the only way to get you there."

She fumed and kept beating him. Her eyes flashed around, and she saw no one to save her. Finally, as Matt began ascending the flight of stairs, Sora got an idea. "RAPE!"

The blonde's eyes widened before he let out a chuckle. "There's no one around to hear you, Takenouchi."

"I don't care! RAPE!"

He rolled his eyes and stopped walking. "If I put you down, will you stop screaming?"

"I thought you said no one could hear me?" she answered slyly.

"They can't," Matt grinned, managing to infuriate her even more, "but you're giving me a killer headache. If I put you down, do you promise you won't run?"

She sighed. "Yes, daddy. I won't run away. Even though a big scary blond man is standing by me."

He lowered her to the ground but caught her hand in his. "I'm not taking the chance."

"Matt," she said, hoping she could butter him up, "I'm not going to leave. This is part of my job, and I guess I knew I was going to have to do that."

"Had you said that ten minutes ago, I wouldn't have had to carry you out of the office."

"You are so arrogant and full of yourself!"

"You are so stubborn!"

Matt pulled on her hand and led her up the set up steps. Neither of them said a word as they climbed the last set of stairs. The corridor ended, and the two approached the lone door. Matt knocked once before opening it and leading Sora in.

"Welcome! Welcome! Mr. Ishida, I assume? And is this…why Ms. Takenouchi, they told me to expect a challenge!" he gave a hearty laugh. "From the look of things, I'd say it's not going to be that hard."

Sora blushed, causing Matt to laugh. "I've already told her that, but she did not believe me or react that way." Sora's face turned a brighter shade of red. "I'm going to warn you in advance, she has a very stubborn attitude."

The man smiled. "I'll take that into account. Where are my manners? Please call me Gennai."

"I'm Sora Takenouchi."

"Actually for the next two weeks you are Sora Lynn Rodgers. You're going to have to start going by it, like it or not. In less than two hours you **will be** Sora Lynn Rodgers."

"She'll be ready." Gennai announced. "Biyo, Gabu, would you come here please?"

Gennai motioned for two of his workers, and Matt faced the girl. "Please be on your best behavior."

"When am I not?" she answered innocently.

"Anytime I'm around." He responded.

She smirked. "Well, you're a special case." _He drives me crazy, but I can't stop provoking him. What's wrong with me?_

_Damn, I love that wit of hers. How does she do this to me?_ Two individuals walked over to them. One was a man with blue hair and wolf-like features while the other was a woman with pink hair and a birdlike appearance. "Please take Sora Lynn over there and get started."

Sora went to follow but then realized her hand was still interlocked with Matt's. They both pulled apart and did their best to conceal their slight blushes.

Matt and Gennai watched them exit before the older man offered Matt a clothes bag. "You requested this."

"Yes, thank you for doing this, and good luck."

"Thank you as well, Mr. Ishida. Come back in an hour and a half. She'll be ready…"

* * *

"So why exactly are you dressed like a penguin?"

Matt rolled his eyes at T.K. "It's part of my job. You didn't think I made it into the FBI by sitting behind a desk, crunching numbers all day, right? Even though I'm head of the operation, I'm still very much involved." He paused. "T.K., I want you and Kari to consider what I offered."

"We will, Matt, and we'll let you know very soon. It's a big offer."

"Very much so. But you do know you're sworn to secrecy. Tai, Sora, and the others can't know."

"Of course, we both understand completely. And if they ask what we were talking about just now, we'll say it was our relationship."

Matt smiled. "You two would be great for this. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places to go."

"Going to go play Prince Charming and sweep Sora off her feet again?" T.K. asked innocently.

The older blond had a good laugh. "Two things, Teeks; Takenouchi doesn't think of me as prince material or charming."

_I think your wrong, Matt. _"But she doesn't think you're a bad guy," he grinned at his brother, "and she's single."

_He's trying to set us up._ "And how would you know that?"

"I asked her."

Matt snickered. "One woman's not enough?"

"MATT!" T.K. exclaimed exasperatedly. "I was referring to you! Ask her out!"

"…"

"Come on, Matt. You've got a gorgeous, independent, intelligent woman right in front of you. Go for it! You can't deny she's not hot."

Chuckling again, Matt ruffled his brother's hair and headed for the door, "Of course she's gorgeous. I'll see you later dork."

"You never answered my question!" T.K. called out as Matt shut the door. "And I call him my brother…"

Matt adjusted his tux and placed the top hat on his head, concealing all his blond hair. _I can't believe I have to wear this ridiculous hat! I guess it's part of the act._ He walked briskly to Gennai's corridor, knocked when he reached the room, and went inside.

The room was alive, and Agent Ishida couldn't believe Gennai had so many assistants. They were all dressed in long white robes that had names on the back. _Biyo? Gabu? Agu? Tento? Where the hell did these people get their names?_

Matt saw a lone figure sitting in a chair. She was wearing a yellow sundress and white strappy sandals. The dress showed off her tanned, athletic body, and Matt couldn't keep himself from looking her over. If he hadn't known who it was, the hair was a dead giveaway. Red waves cascaded down her back.

Sora turned around when she heard a whistle. "Not bad at all, Takenouchi."

"It's Sora Lynn Rodgers to you, Ishida." She smirked and looked at his outfit. _And that's not bad at all either._

Matt fumbled for something in his pocket, and as she stood up, he walked behind her pretending to look over her outfit. "Glad to see you're playing the part."

"Ishida, what are you doing?" she gasped as his arms encircled her figure and moved up to her neck. The man hooked something around it and let his hands linger against her smooth skin before standing back to admire her.

"This necklace will serve as a microphone. We all have one and can stay in communication. You should also be able to hear us through it. Izzy somehow figured it out."

"It's so beautiful." Sora gazed at the red heart.

"I always thought I had good taste in picking things out. I chose a different one for everyone." Matt replied, showing an odd shaped circle with two spikes jutting out from it.

"Matt, glad to see you. Fantastic!" Gennai came back. "She has learned everything she needs to know for today, but we have quite a lot of work to do."

"I expected no less." The blond answered. Sora gazed around the room.

"Gennai, you said I'd have an escort. Do you know where…"

Matt took her hand and kissed it lightly. "You don't want to be late, Miss New York." He gestured to her sash and grinned as a faint blush found her cheeks. _It's not easy to get her to blush, but it only adds to her appearance._

"You've got to be kidding me."

The agent shook his head. "Did you not think I would be involved in this mission?"

She sighed and headed towards the door. "Remember everything we went over." Gennai called as Matt followed her out the door.

"What are you doing now, Ishida?" she asked for the third time that day after he linked his arm through hers.

"Didn't Gennai explain the proper way to walk with your escort? And since I was assigned to Miss New York…"

Sora rolled her eyes. "I can't wait till this mission is over. Then I won't have to put up with you."

"You know you'll miss me," Matt answered haughtily. "Okay, I'll be in Mr. Fujiyama's office with the others listening in. The room has already been bugged. If you need anything, just touch your necklace and speak. The response you hear will be loud enough for only you to hear."

"As they approached the main doors, Matt stood up straighter and looked more dignified. Sora raised an eyebrow. "I'm just playing up to the escort's part." He mumbled through the side of his mouth. "I excelled in drama, speech, and acting in school. This probably won't be the last time you see me act, and I'll probably appear in places where you least expect me."

They walked into the large room, and the girl couldn't believe all the people inside. "Where do I sit?"

"Relax, act natural, and follow my lead." Agent Ishida soothed, as if knowing her nerves were taking over.

"Miss New York, welcome!" Mr. Fujiyama greeted, like he had never seen her before. "You're seated at table seven."

"Thank you, M…sir." Sora smiled, and Matt directed her away. "God, that was close."

"You'll be fine. Remember, if you need anything at all, let me know." They arrived at the table, and the man let Sora off. "Here you are, Miss New York."

"Thank you, sir." Matt nodded and headed off.

"We were starting to wonder if you'd show up." Miss Texas said.

The girl next to her giggled. "Ignore her, she gets a bit impatient. I'm Miss Mississippi, Mimi Tachikawa."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Miss New York, Sora Lynn Rodgers." _So far, so good._

"I'm Yolei Inoue, Miss Massachusetts."

"My name's Catherine. I'm Miss Georgia."

"Hello, I'm Miss Minnesota. Call me Gwen."

"And I'm Jun Motomiya, Miss Texas."

_I wonder if she's related to that __Davis__ dude._ Sora didn't get a chance to ask as Mr. Fujiyama came up to the stage.

"Good morning, ladies! It's time to kickoff the Miss America Pageant!"

Cheers echoed around Sora, and she clapped as well. _Here we go…_

A/N: Please review! My friend's been talking nonstop about this Miss Petite Preteen pageant she was in along time ago, and after it completely annoyed me, I decided I was in a beauty pageant kind of mood! Lol! And about the states each girl represents: I randomly picked them out…I swear! Lol! Sadly, my state was not listed nor did I choose it as one of the top 10 states for later! Lol! Oh well, hope you liked it and please review!


	6. Undercover

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

A/N: I've been busy—sorry for the long wait. This chapter was so much fun to write. Please review and let me know what you think!

**Ages:** Joe (25), Jun (25),Matt (24), Tai (23), Sora (23), Izzy (22), Mimi (22), Catherine (22), Gwen (22), Yolei (21), Kari (20), T.K. (20), Davis (20)...I think that's all for now!

Chapter 6: Undercover

"Are those the room assignments?" Matt's voice asked in quite a bored voice. "How'd you get them, Kamiya?"

The brunette rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well you see…"

"You flirted with one of the girls, right?" Izzy asked with a smirk.

"Yeah." Tai answered sadly.

Matt rolled his eyes. "You could have just asked Mr. Fujiyama."

Tai blinked. "I could have?"

The blond frowned. "Yes, Kamiya. What else did you find out about the girls?"

"Well, Miss Arkansas enjoys bird watching in her spare time. Miss Kentucky is an avid basketball fan. Miss California just graduated and holds an internship with a telecommunications company."

"Anything else?"

The man's face lit up. "Miss Iowa's got nice legs! Damn, she looks fine!"

Agent Ishida buried his face in his hands. _How did I get stuck with a bunch of comedians? _

"Why does it not surprise me he said that?" he heard Joe whisper to Izzy.

The genius nodded. "I agree." He turned to face the stressed leader. "Matt, do you want to hear how our job is going."

The blond merely nodded. "So far we've successfully finished bugging ten out of the fifteen main rooms. Izzy has five of them up and running on the computer mainframe, and we expect to finish within the next two days."

"At least I have some people on the team who are putting in an effort."

"Was that a compliment?" Joe whispered as Matt headed toward Davis.

Izzy shrugged. "Maybe."

"Have you received any new information regarding the Beauty Queen Killer?"

The younger boy cleared his throat. "Different parts of the main auditorium and ballroom have been vandalized. We've also heard some of the judges have been receiving threats in the mail."

"Who are the judges?" Tai asked through a mouthful of chips he'd bought from a vending machine. "I haven't started learning about them yet."

"According to our reports, there are five judges who have received hate mail and threats out of the ten total judges. First off is a rather famous movie star; you're probably familiar with him."

"Who is he?" Joe wondered.

"He's one of those rare celebrities that can be known by one name, and everyone knows who you're talking about. Michael is his name."

"The Michael?" Taichi spit out the chips he was eating, earning him a reproachful look from Matt.

"The one and only. Every year they get some famous celebrities here to judge. This year he was one of them."

"Who else do we have?" Matt asked, tapping his pencil against the table.

"Next we have Mr. Oikawa. He has been with the pageant for a long time. Mr. Oikawa, everyone calls him that; no one ever bothers with his last name, is a high ranking official on the board of trustees. We also have a local boy who was selected from a field of worthy candidates. His name is Cody Hida. He was among 30,000 candidates who applied for the job. The boy is only in his early teens but he's very nice, just, and wise. His father used to be a police officer on our force but was killed in a drive-by-shooting accident."

"How awful," Izzy mused. One by one the others were all agreeing. _Do my eyes deceive me? Is Matt showing some sort of feeling?_

The blond leader's sullen face had turned a bit compassionate. The harsh look on his face smoothed out, and it appeared something Davis said hit the blond.

"Who are the final two judges?" Matt changed the subject, his demeanor going back to its normal state.

"There's another guy, well, another famous guy you all might have been hearing about lately. He's a genius, literally. This guy is smart in every area that it's possible to be smart in!" Matt gave Davis a funny look, but the boy brushed it off. "His name is Ken Ichijouji."

Izzy let out a yelp. "I've heard of him! He's prodigious!"

Joe laughed. "Well, I haven't heard of him, but when Izzy says that, I know it's a compliment."

"And the last judge?" _We're never going to get things figured out with all this added commentary!_

"He's another famous name. Akira, another one-named star, the big-name singer. Girls go crazy over him, guys are fans of his, and everyone loves him."

"A-A-Akira?"

Davis stared at the dumbfounded blond. "Do you have a problem with him? A lot of celebrities apply for a guest spot, but only a certain number are selected every year. Chief showed me Akira's application and how he joked about being a good judge because he loves girls."

"He would say that."

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind, it's nothing. Takenouchi, you've been quiet this whole time. Takenouchi? Takenouchi!"

The blond glared at the girl. Her head was resting in her arms; she was fast asleep. _She's been sleeping this whole time, and I just now noticed. Damn Ishida, you give her too much leeway. The others will wonder if I don't wake you up. So, sorry about this…_

He looked around the room for something to wake her up with. The man saw the perfect object, grabbed it, and walked over to the side of the table she was at.

**SLAM!**

Her head shot up, and the girl looked around with wide eyes. She glanced from face to face, and her ruby orbs finally landed on the culprit. "Do you have a problem, Ishida?"

He smirked, setting the yardstick down. "Glad to see you're awake, Sleeping Beauty. Next time don't sleep through a mandatory meeting."

"Do you have any idea what I've been through this past week?"

"We've been waiting for you to tell us what's been going on with you, Takenouchi, but it appears you preferred sleeping."

She stood up, ready to snap at him when Joe took a stand. "Arguing will get us nowhere! Can't you two just get along for a bit?"

"Fine," they both murmured in unison, not meeting each others eyes.

"Well, the last week has been interesting, to say the very least. I've met most of the contestants. Some of them are sweethearts, some are bitches, and some are right in the middle. We've been given plenty of tours around the main building. I can point out to you where just about anything is. Also, they've been prepping us for the different parts of the competition. Gennai's been helping me a lot with each individual area, but I know there's a lot I'm going to have to learn."

"Is that everything?" Matt asked.

She glared at him. "Did I sound like I was finished?" He went to cut her off, but she responded quickly, "Where was I? A good deal of this week has been spent learning the dance and opening numbers for the live pageant. That part's been the worst. I hate dancing and all that jazz so it's been really hard to pick up on. I'm just lucky soccer prepared me to be light on my feet so I wouldn't make myself look like a huge fool. Otherwise, nothing's been as bad as I expected. The lessons with Gennai have been going relatively well; that guy can talk your ear off. But I'm just lacking sleep very much. In fact, I'm breaking curfew to be here right now. I'm just lucky my roommate, Mimi Tachikawa, is a very heavy sleeper, and Mr. Fujiyama gave me a key to the back of the hotel so I can get in at any time without someone seeing me."

Tai yawned and looked at his watch. "Is that everything, Ishida? It's 11:30."

Sora groaned. "Oh great. I have to be up at 7:00 tomorrow. We're given the day off to explore the city, but I'm going with a bunch of girls somewhere. Mimi's planned this huge excursion for us."

Matt rolled his eyes. "I guess we're finished. We'll have another meeting two nights from now. The pageant's in a week, people; we need to find out who the Beauty Queen Killer is."

Izzy nodded. "I agree, but for now, I'm going to go get some sleep. Goodnight." He headed back into the sleeping quarters of their headquarters with Joe, Tai, and Davis all behind him.

The blond put his papers together and started to head that way too. "Wait a minute? What about me? I need someone to get me back to the hotel."

"Call that Lucas guy." Matt replied. "He said he'd drive us anywhere we needed to go."

"Lucas drove me here in the first place and told me he could pick me up only if I was done before 11:00. That's when he's done for the night."

Agent Ishida rolled his blue eyes. He walked over to the key rack and grabbed the nearest set. "Let's go…"

Matt tapped his finger against the steering wheel of the Hummer as they sat at a red light. He was exhausted and ready to go get some sleep. _I can't believe I have to drive her home. Couldn't one of the others?_ He looked at the woman next to him, not surprised to find her fast asleep. _She looks beautiful when she sleeps._

He flashed back to reality as the light changed. The blond drove the vehicle the fifteen minute drive to the hotel the girls were all staying at. He pulled up into the back entrance, trying to make as little sound as possible. Shutting the Hummer off he realized he was faced with a dilemma. "Takenouchi, Takenouchi, wake up."

Her eyes didn't even flutter open. _Damn it!_ "Come on, Sora, we're here." Nothing. Matt groaned, almost ready to start shaking her when he realized something. _I was a bit mean, waking her up by hitting a ruler against the table. Damn conscience. I'll let her sleep._

Matt opened up his door and walked around to the passenger side. He opened up the door, unbuckled her seatbelt, and lifted Sora into his arms. He shut the door again and headed up to the hotel.

_Great, another problem._ "Takenouchi, where's the key to get into the door?"

No answer. Matt sighed. _She'd better not slap me for this._ He dug into the pocket of her coat, and finding nothing, then moved his hand to the pocket of her jeans. Digging around, he finally found them, buried in the depths of her pocket.

And it was at that moment she chose to awake.

"Ishida, what are you doing?"

He sighed. "You fell asleep, you need to get inside, I needed the keys…do the math."

She bit her lip. "Why didn't you just wake me up?"

Matt didn't have a good answer for that.

"Well?"

He was about to reply this time when suddenly the blond saw a flashing light. "Shit, someone's coming this way."

The Hummer was far enough out of the way—Matt had made sure of it when he parked—that no one would know it was parked by the hotel; rather, they'd think it belonged to the residential house next door. But Sora and Matt were out in the open. The blond looked both ways before darting, still with Sora in his arms, behind a huge bush. He crouched down, holding her against him and glanced at the person.

Sora too went to look at the person but realized she was stuck in Matt's arms and had somehow ended up straddling his waist. She pushed herself away, and they both blushed from the contact. To hide their faces, both turned to watch the mysterious figure.

He or she was adorned in all black, using a flashlight as a bit of light. They looked over as the person scurried from place to place. "Oh my God!"

Matt covered the redhead's mouth and glared at her. "Shhh!"

She brushed his hand away. "He or she dropped something."

The blond looked over to where she was pointing and saw it. "We'll grab it when they leave."

The figure darted around, tried the door, but couldn't get in. He or she stomped afoot before running off in the opposite direction of Matt and Sora. The two waited there in silence for five more minutes before deciding it was safe to go into the hotel.

They headed to the paper the person had dropped, very surprised to find it blank. "I think it's a clue; he or she didn't realize they dropped it, I'm sure of it." Sora stated. "I'd say take it back to Izzy or Joe."

Matt nodded, for once agreeing with her. "That sounds good. I'll head back. You get inside and get some sleep. It looks like you need it…" he trailed off mysteriously before walking over to the Hummer. Sora stared at him until he got into the vehicle, and then she went inside the hotel…

* * *

"Rise and shine, Sora Lynn!" Mimi's voice made Sora wince, and she was blinded by the light from outside. "I have this HUGE day planned for us!"

"I know," the redhead replied, shoving a pillow over her head. "Wake me up tomorrow."

Mimi laughed. "Sora Lynn, today's our day to relax! We're going to go to the beach, out to eat, to the malls, and then to the spa!"

"Why are you so damn perky?"

The girl giggled again. "I met this really cute guy when I was out for my morning jog. He was so adorable, and he wanted my autograph!"

Sora rolled her eyes. _So that's why Mimi started going on jogs—to meet guys. Go figure, but that's Mimi for you._ The girl lethargically climbed out of bed. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"And then we can start our fun-filled day!"

"Yay!..."

* * *

_Wow, Tai is actually good at something other than food-eating contests. I can't believe he managed to get all this._

Matt got out of the car he was driving today, a 2005 silver Subaru, and headed toward the apartment complex. He walked inside and searched for the right name. _Takaishi._

"Hello?"

"It's Matt."

"Hey, it'll be open. Come on up."

The blond walked up the steps, carrying a clothes bag in one hand and a sheet of paper and bottle without a label on it in the other. "Hey, T.K." He greeted when he opened up the door.

"Hey bro. What's up? You said you had something important for me."

"Yeah I do. But first did you and Kari get the stuff I asked for?"

"Yep, I'll go get it for you. What's in the bag?"

Matt smiled. "I need to change clothes. Where's your bathroom at?"

T.K. pointed with his free hand while he dug through a stack of papers. The younger blond heard the shower start and stood up. _I thought he just needed to change clothes? I wonder what's up._

Ten minutes later, T.K. had found the thick folder full of papers and pictures just as Matt emerged from the bathroom. He couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Do I want to know, Matt?"

"No, but believe me, this is all coming off as soon as possible."

"Here's everything." T.K. handed his brother the folder and took the sheet of paper Matt offered him.

"Here's what I need next. It's really important that you get it too."

"Of course. What am I looking…judges. I see." The blond skimmed over the list, and suddenly his mouth dropped as well. "Akira's one of them?"

Matt sighed. "Who would have thought? Of all the celebrities that applied or were asked…"

"…he just had to be chosen. You're telling me. You can't let him see you."

"That's a bit of an understatement." Looking at the clock in the kitchen, Matt picked up all his things. "Well, as much as I'd like to stay and chat, I've gotta jet. I'll call you later."

T.K. smiled and held the door open for his brother. "C'ya Matt. And good luck with whatever you're doing…"

* * *

"I had so much fun today, Meems!" Catherine exclaimed.

Jun nodded. "I know; I've gotten so many awesome clothes."

Yolei smiled. "And there were so many HOT guys at the beach!"

"So what'd you think about today, Sora Lynn?" Mimi anxiously awaited Sora's reply. _I hope she liked it._

_The other things really weren't as bad as I thought they'd be. And these ladies are…well, interesting definitely describes them._ "Great! But I'm looking forward to the massage most of all."

"Hell yeah!" Gwen exclaimed causing everyone to laugh.

They were all lying down on tables in the back room of one of the city's finest spas, waiting for the masseuses to come in.

"Speaking of guys, I met the cutest one today! He's got this awesome chocolate-colored hair that's really spiky, deep brown eyes, and he was fine on the eyes!"

Sora groaned. _That's all she's talked about all day! Can't she just leave it alone. But the more she talks about him, the more he sounds like…Tai!_ "Hey, Meems, did this guy have a name?"

"Yeah, um…Tai Kamiya. He said he was staying at his aunt and uncle's condo for a few weeks and then planning on attending the Pageant."

_I was right. So Mimi's got a thing for Tai. I wonder what Tai thinks. She seems a bit too materialistic and attention-seeking for Tai, but who knows. I'm so going to tease him though._

The masseuses all entered the room, and each man headed for a girl. "Excuse me, but is someone coming in to give me a massage?"

"Yeah, he's coming. The boss just wanted to talk with him." Sora's face fell. _Oh great; I'm stuck with the bad one._ "Don't worry, ma'am, everyone here has exquisite training. Boss just wants to talk to him because they didn't pay him enough on his last paycheck."

Sora relaxed. _That's good._ "And don't worry, you'll get a longer massage because you had to wait." _Well this day isn't turning out too bad._ She waited and waited, and finally a brunette walked into the room. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was a good-looking man, around 6'2 with dark brown hair,—spiked in a way that reminded her of someone—a nice figure, and beautiful eyes. _Maybe it was worth the wait!_

He pulled back the towel, and took the different lotions and oils—Sora really wasn't too sure what they were—and began massaging her back. She sighed and rested her hands on her head. "So ladies, you've all heard about the guy I'm crushing over. I want to hear about the rest of you. Catherine?"

"Well, there's this guy I like. I met him in France a year ago when I studied abroad over there. He was very charming."

"Nice catch." Mimi giggled. Sora rolled her eyes. _Go figure Mimi would bring this up. What am I going to say? I could say I'm not interested in dating now, but they won't leave me alone if I say that. I guess I could describe Matt…it's not like he's going to find out…_

Gwen laughed. "He sounds handsome. I'm single and still looking. I've dated a few guys, but I haven't found anyone great yet."

"I hope you do!" Yolei exclaimed. "I'm in the same boat. There are so many guys out there I like, and they're all so hot and gorgeous. I haven't found one for me yet."

Jun smiled. "Well, I'm going out with this guy. His name's Jim Kido. We met a couple years ago when he stopped in at the café I was working at. We first started out as friends, but then our relationship kind of grew. He's not the best-looking guy out there, but I think he's adorable."

_That's Joe's brother! I wonder if Joe knows…_

"What about you, Sora Lynn? You've been awfully quite."

She bit her lip, unsure as to say it or not. But as the masseuse's hand worked against her skin, and she became relaxed, she gave in. _What's the worst that could happen?_ "Well, I'm single, but there is this one guy. He and I just met—we had to work together on some project at, uh…school. He's a blond, over six foot tall, very athletic, gorgeous cerulean eyes, and just very hot. We haven't gotten along the best though. We've both got really stubborn attitudes that tend to get in the way of a friendship of some sort, but he's not a bad guy by any means."

"He sounds really good-looking, Sora Lynn."

She smiled. "He is, we just haven't exactly gotten off on the right foot."

"Well, good luck." Gwen wished her.

"Ladies, you're massage time is up. You can go into the changing rooms and change. She'll," the man who'd spoken before paused and pointed to Sora, "be out in about ten minutes."

The masseuses all left through the same door, following the other girls out. Sora closed her eyes as the man massaging her slowed down a bit. _This feels great. How relaxing!_

"I thought you said there was no attraction, Takenouchi."

Sora froze at the man's voice. She pulled the towel to her and rolled over onto her side. _Shit._

"I told you to expect me in places you wouldn't expect me."

"Ishida…what are you doing here…and what did you do to your hair?"

He smirked at her. "This is part of my job. You're not the only one going undercover. I was getting more information about the contestants you've been hanging around with. I figured I'd have to dye my hair so you wouldn't realize it was me."

"Well dye it back. It's much better blond." Sora blushed. _Stupid big mouth._

Matt's grin got wider. "So you do like me."

"I never said that."

He made little quotations with his fingers. "'He's just very hot…'"

She turned away from him so he couldn't see her red face. "Fine, so I'll admit you're hot."

"Good."

She glared at him and went to stand up. "If you'll excuse me…"

He grabbed her arm. "Have supper with me right now."

"But it's…" She checked her watch, _damn,__seven o'clock__. Where's the day gone?_ "Why?"

"Because I want to have lunch with you. We're going to be working together for at least another week. Why not try to get along? My treat. I'll even let you choose."

She stared him down. "Fine, I'll meet you outside in fifteen minutes."

"Sounds good." She stood up and clutched the towel around her body tightly.

Matt watched her walk toward the changing room and chuckled to himself. _I knew she liked me…_

A/N: Please review! If you were at all confused about how Matt got there and all...it'll be explained next chapter...


	7. Getting to Know You

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

A/N: Extra long chapter here for the Easter weekend. I'm now on my Spring Break—Friday, Saturday, and Sunday…-grumbles- Stupid school administration. But thanks to everyone who reads this and don't forget to leave a review!

**A/N: UPDATED 12.19.08 **So I'm going through and deleting all the review replies; back in the day, it was still legit to go ahead and respond to reviews within the story. That changed about a year and a half into writing this, so to make everything look the same, I went back and have been deleting review replies as I've went. Even though they're gone, I'd still like to extend an enormous thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story. You all are awesome!

**Ages:** Joe (25), Jun (25),Matt (24), Tai (23), Sora (23), Izzy (22), Mimi (22), Catherine (22), Gwen (22), Yolei (21), Kari (20), T.K. (20), Davis (20)...

Chapter 7: Getting to Know You

Sora took one last glance at the man standing behind her before rushing off into the changing room. She could see him wearing an arrogant smirk out of the corner of her eye and wanted nothing more than to rip it off.

_I can't believe that was him! How the hell did he get here? And where did he learn how to give such an incredible massage? I cannot believe I just thought that! But I did like it—oh God, Sora get a grip! It's just a guy!_

She took a deep, calming breath before walking into the changing rooms, attempting to keep her composure. "Back so soon, Sora Lynn?" Mimi called. She was standing in front of the mirror, applying some makeup to her face. "I thought you had a bit extra time."

"I just remembered I'm supposed to meet an old friend for supper in like half an hour. I need to get there on time." She replied, walking into the bathroom area to change.

"But Meems got reservations for us at this really awesome vegetarian restaurant! Surely, you don't want to miss is!" Catherine exclaimed.

_Vegetarian?_ Sora made a face from within the bathroom. _I've got nothing against people who are vegetarians, but I'm by far not one! Thank you for asking me out, Matt, if you'd call it that…_"Well, as great as that sounds, I can't back out of these plans."

The redhead pulled her clothes out of the bag, making another disgusted face. Gennai insisted she'd have to add a few skirts to her apparel to add up to her appearance. She sighed. She didn't have a pair of pants with her; she'd been wearing the skirt all day. _Ishida's never going to let me live this down._

She unlocked the door five minutes later, being entertained by the gossip and chitchat of the girls around her. "It's one week to the pageant ladies. Let's go celebrate the time we've had together." Yolei smiled.

Jun giggled. "Sounds like a great plan!" They all headed to the door. "We'll see you back at the hotel, Sora Lynn. Have fun with your friend!"

"Bye." She forced a sweet smile and rolled her eyes when the girls left the room. The girl moved in front of the wall length mirror and looked over her appearance. She had a jean miniskirt on along with a v-neck blue sleeveless t-shirt. Sora pulled out some bracelets from her bag. _May as well pay Ishida back for the whole massage thing._ She put her hair half up in a high ponytail, leaving bangs down to frame her face. With a touch of lip gloss and a spritz of her passion fruit body spray, she was ready to go.

Stepping into her sandals and grabbing her bag and purse, the girl walked out the door. Her target was outside already, and checking her watch, the girl knew she was right on schedule. She saw a familiar face with Matt, noticing it was the cab driver who'd helped them out when they first got to San Antonio.

"So, where are you and your girlfriend headed?"

"She's not my girlfriend," the blond, though for the time being he was still a brunette, replied quickly. "We're just business associates." He tapped his foot against the ground, impatiently waiting for Sora to emerge, not realizing she was already outside watching him. _What's taking that girl so long? She's not one to…holy shit!_

Lucas, the cabdriver, snickered at the agent's face. "Just business associates, huh? Keep telling yourself that, and you just might start to believe it."

Matt's eyes had widened and mouth dropped open the second Sora made her presence known. She looked so uncharacteristic of Sora Takenouchi that he couldn't help but be shocked. It was noticeable in all aspects. From the way she carried herself, to the outfit she wore, to the sly look she bore, Matt could tell the woman had paid attention in her lessons with Gennai. He couldn't believe how different she looked.

Matt always believed she was beautiful, bearing that true girl next door look all the women who spent hours on their appearance were jealous of. But now in her short jean shirt and tank top, going a bit more feminine for some reason, he thought her beauty was only magnified. _She could walk in front of me in muddy jeans and a shirt full of holes but still look like a goddess. Damn, I've got it bad._ As she got closer, he could tell she wasn't wearing any makeup. _Not that she needs it._

Lucas had gotten back in the cab while Matt stood waiting for her. "Eyes back in your head, Ishida." She whispered, walking past him to the cab.

He only smirked as he joined her inside. "So where to?"

Matt directed his attention to Sora. "As promised, you get to choose."

The girl looked out the window, as if the solution was lying right before her. "I heard there's this great little Mexican place down by the hotel he and I stayed at."

The cabbie chuckled, pulling into the left turnoff lane. "Ma'am, choosin' a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio's like telling me to get you any hotel. But, I do know the one you're referring to, and we should be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Mexican, huh?" Sora's cheeks tinted red though she tried her best to hide it. Matt's warm, husky voice brushed against her ear. "I hope you're not planning on ordering anything with onions in it. That would be a pity…"

* * *

"Call me again if you need anything. I'm happy to be of service," Lucas called out after they paid him. He drove off down the road, and Matt turned his attention to the redhead.

"You ready to go?"

"Of course," she responded, walking off to the door of the restaurant. The blond hurried to catch up to her, reaching the door before she did and opening it for her. "Who would've thought you'd be a gentleman?"

"There are many things you don't know about me, Takenouchi. But after tonight, I have a feeling we'll be knowing a lot more about each other."

She gave him a quizzical look before approaching the nearest waiter. "How many in your party, señorita?"

"There are two of us."

The Hispanic man grabbed some menus and motioned for them to follow him. He lead them towards the back of the restaurant, and a dimly lit corner booth with a chandelier provided the only light around them, Latin music playing in the background. "Could I offer the two of you something to drink?"

The redhead smiled. _Ishida did say he was paying for it. _"I'll have a margarita, please."

Matt raised an eyebrow before smirking. "I'll take a cerveza."

The man nodded after he checked both of their ids. "Here are your menus. I'll be back with your drinks and to take your order."

Agent Ishida casually glanced down at his menu, quite often raising his eyes to study the woman in front of him. Her dark ruby eyes pools met his cerulean orbs, and the girl smirked. "Yes?"

"Nothing…"

They were engulfed in a silence, neither of them really knowing what to say. _I don't do this very often, dating. It's awkward right now, the two of us. What should I say to him?_

_She's probably waiting for me to say something; after all I did ask her out, if you'd call it that. _

"Here are your drinks and some chips and salsa to tide you over. Are you ready to order?"

"I'll have the two cheese quesadillas." Sora stated, folding up her menu and silently thanking the waiter for his timely appearance.

"Chicken enchilada with the Spanish rice, please." Unbeknownst to her, he was thinking the exact same thing.

The waiter wrote their selections down, departing back into the kitchen. Sora took a long drink of her margarita and decided she would be the one to break the ice. "So why did you ask me here, Ishida, if you're just going to sit there staring."

"Nothing wrong with watching you,"

She smirked. "Are you saying you're a stalker or something?"

He took a bite of a chip. "Hardly, but if I was, I'd at least be stalking someone who's fine on the eyes."

"Ishida, why'd you demand I join you here?"

Matt remained calm, lifting up his glass and slowly drinking from it. "Were you not listening when I told you before?"

She sighed. "Ishida, I…"

He held up a hand. "Come on, Takenouchi. Tell me something about yourself I never would have guessed."

"Why?"

"I want to get to know you as well as your other friends do. Face it, the two of us fight and yell more than anything else, with the exception of purposely antagonizing the other. Can't we just try to be mature about this? We've got to work together for another week—more if you remember you're being promoted to the FBI. We'll most likely see each other on a daily basis then."

They stared each other down. "I once had a cat named Sam who got half her tail cut off when a window fell down on it."

"…"

She held up her hands in defense. "You asked me to tell you something about myself."

_That wasn't quite what I wanted to know but at least she's talking to me._ "Back when I was in fourth grade, a couple of my classmates' parents came into our room to talk to us about their jobs. My friend Willis's dad was an astronaut, and it sounded like the coolest job. For awhile I really considered it, but then I got my report card a few years ago and realized science wasn't one of my stronger subjects. I was acing the class, but I didn't really have that love for it I would've needed to be an astronaut. So I set my sights on something more low key."

"You call being an agent for the FBI low key?" the amused redhead asked.

He winked at her, giving her his most dashing grin. The girl resisted the temptation to blush, though it took all her might and focus. "To a certain degree. Now it's your turn."

It was an entertaining game. From the moment she'd first talked to him, Sora had wanted to find out the secrets he held behind his enigmatic exterior. This looked like the perfect opportunity. She couldn't hide her growing fascination with him any longer.

"Freshman year of high school we had this bake sale to raise money for something or other. Well, I decided I was going to bake these really great brownies my mother always made, but the recipe I was using got stuck to the page after it. I ended up making half brownies and half these orange dream bar things, with orange flavoring in them. One taste of these…things…was enough to make you swear off eating brownies, but I didn't have any choice but to bring them. So, I was setting my food up, and Tai came by. Being that the man can't resist food, he popped one into his mouth. His taste buds are incredibly odd, and he loved it. I sold the whole pan to him for five bucks."

Matt snickered. "He ate them all?"

"Yeah and spent the next two days in front of the toilet. Tai demanded I give the money back, but I never did." Sora drained the rest of her margarita, admitting to herself how much she was enjoying this. _I love hearing about these crazy things. It sounds like he didn't use to be as mysterious and stoical as he appears now. Maybe I can break through his stony mask._ "It's your turn, Ishida."

He thought to himself. "T.K. and I always used to play _Candyland_ when we were little." He paused to take a drink. "That boy could kick my ass over and over again. I never stood a chance. One day, he had to go to the bathroom so I stacked the deck in my favor, just to beat him."

"What a sore loser!" She provoked him.

"I couldn't let my four year old brother beat me every time, now could I?"

"That's sweet," she couldn't stop herself from saying. "Were you and T.K. close growing up?"

Matt nodded, finishing his drink as well. "He was one of my best friends. We had a lot of fun together. He was always the kind of brother everyone dreams about but never gets. When I first met him, though, I never thought that. I yelled and screamed at mom to take him back to the hospital, but my parents refused."

Sora laughed, and the blond noticed what a beautiful sound it was. He vowed from that point on, to make sure she laughed and smiled a whole hell of a lot when he was around her. "I'm an only child, but I always wished my parents would have another kid. Mom went shopping one time—I think I was around six—and asked me if there was anything I wanted. I told her to pick up a baby sister while she was there cause that's what I really wanted."

Her face lit up again, causing Matt to grin as well. "You have a beautiful smile, Takenouchi. You'd better smile for me more so I have something to compliment you on every now and then."

His eyes held a playful twinkle, and the redhead couldn't think of anything to say. Luckily, the waiter walking by saved the day once more. "Excuse me, but could I get another drink? And one for the lady as well?"

"Certainly, señor."

Sora brushed her hand against the arm Matt had left idly sitting on the table, and they both nearly jumped from the contact. "Are you trying to get me drunk?"

He chuckled. "No, I just have a feeling the way are stories are going, we're going to be needing a few more drinks…"

* * *

Two and a half hours later, each done with their plate of food and on their third drink, they still sat laughing together and sharing memories. "So what was the best game you ever had? How many goals did you score?"

Sora pondered the question. "Four, I think. But one of them might have been a fluke. I was aiming for the left side of the goal, but a defender stepped in the way. The ball hit her and deflected right, right into the goal past the keeper."

Matt laughed for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night. _I've never laughed this much with anyone, not even T.K. when we were growing up before the divorce. There's just something captivating about her. What's she doing to me?_ "I was never one for sports. Music was my thing."

"Band geek?" She joked, citing the way the media seemingly always portrayed members of the band.

He shook his head. "Nah, I had my own band. We weren't bad at all. Actually, we were pretty damn close to a record deal before the band dissolved." He continued on before she could ask why. "People around the school loved us. I think the only way I avoided getting in trouble a lot was because even the teachers loved me."

"Don't sound so cocky. So if you had all these teachers wrapped around your finger, did you ever get sent to detention?"

"Yeah," he answered as if it was blatantly obvious. "The guys and I were rebels. We were always getting yelled at for something or another. Most of the time, we avoided detention, but on the select few "special" times, we visited the room quite a lot."

"Bad boy rebel is now an FBI agent?" she asked coyly, smirking at him, wanting him to play along with her teasing. _I can't stop flirting with him. What's going on? Do I like him that much?_

Matt gave her a deviously irresistible grin. "What can I say? So how about you, Miss Perfect? National Honor Society member, student leader, jock…I take it you never got sent to detention." She lowered her head, and his grin got wider. "So even angels have their bad days."

"It wasn't my fault." Sora defended. "We went bowling for PE, and my teacher let the bus leave without two of my classmates and me. We all got in one of my classmates cars and drove down to the bowling alley. Turns out we couldn't do that, but none of us knew that. When we got back to school, we were awarded with detentions. Everyone who heard about it, even a bunch of the other teachers, thought it was unfair and the stupidest thing they'd ever heard."

"Who's the rebel now?" he smirked at her.

The girl rolled her eyes and stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom."

She grabbed her purse, and as she was about to walk away, stopped at Matt's voice. "Don't worry, Takenouchi, I'll still be here when you come back!"

_Dumb ass._ Sora made her way to the bathroom, upset at herself for letting him get the upper hand. She walked out the door, fuming to herself. _I thought we weren't going to get little revenges on each other. _Sora spotted something on her way back that made her stop in her tracks. _Well, one more little revenge won't hurt, right..._

Matt checked his watch. Nearly 10:00. What's_ taking her so long?_ He stifled a yawn and looked up when he heard footsteps. Agent Ishida was about to open his mouth but stopped when he realized it wasn't Sora. He quizzically looked up at the group of waiters standing before him, all bearing different Mexican musical instruments.

"We hear, you señor, have a birthday. Uno, dos, tres!"

"Feliz cumpleaños a ti! Feliz cumpleaños a ti! Feliz cumpleaños a Mateo; feliz cumpleaños a ti!"

The blonde's face had turned bright crimson as every face in the room was staring at him. He looked around, hoping Sora would save him but didn't see her anywhere. _Damn it; I bet she planned this._

Sora placed a hand over her mouth to compress the giggles that were floating out. _I got him good! _The group was serenading him on his "supposed birthday," and she'd never seen him that uncomfortable. _He looks so adorable!_

She'd be the first to admit, though, he looked great all the time. Tonight was no exception. His outfit of choice consisted of a pair of faded, worn jeans that fit well around all parts of his body, showing off his long legs in the process. He had a blue polo shirt on, striped with shades of blue and white. The first button was undone and it left no doubt to anyone who saw him—especially from the fact the shirt was short sleeved—that Matt Ishida was very well built. _But seeing him without a shirt on only proves it. Ah, how does he do this to me? Why am I getting so worked up over some guy! But he's not just some guy; he's—get a grip, Sora!_

She mentally chastised herself, finally getting enough control over her thoughts to walk back over to their booth. The waiters all smiled at her as she made her way back there, and they left. "Thank you for alerting us about it being his birthday, señorita."

"Oh it's no problem," she responded.

Matt didn't think it was that funny, though. He glared at her as she sat down. "What was that for?"

"That," the girl stretched out the word, emphasizing it as much as she could, "was for carrying me out of the car the other day."

He blinked. "Can't a guy attempt to do a nice thing?"

"Oh yes, I forgot you were such a gentlemen, Ishida."

"It would serve you well to remember it," Sora rolled her eyes. "Well, I'd say we've been here long enough. What do you say I walk you back to the hotel?"

"The hotel?" She asked incredulously. "But, that's quite a long way away from here."

The blond shrugged. "It's no biggie. I mean, consider it sightseeing. I imagine you haven't gotten to see a lot of the city." They both stood up, and Matt walked up to the front to pay the check.

"With the exception of the guided trips and Mimi's little tours she makes us go on…no. She had reservations for us tonight at some vegetarian restaurant. I've got nothing against vegetarians. Truthfully, every now and then I feel bad about eating animals, but I could never be one for good. Besides, this was better; I got to watch you get embarrassed as a bunch of good singers serenaded you.

The two left the restaurant and headed towards an overpass, leading to the downtown area and the hotel Sora was staying at. They had traveled across the street and now stood on a bridge with a footpath for walkers and bikers, overlooking the outskirts of the city limits. Night was beginning to fall; the moon choosing to finally show its light and illuminate the sky. Matt stopped walking at her comment. "If you thought they were good, I must be at least a hundred times better," he bragged, resting his arms against the rail.

Sora raised her eyebrows, taking the same stance he had. "That's right; you were in a band." She sardonically answered. Then the woman got an idea. "Why don't you sing something for me right now, and I'll be the judge as to who the better singer is. Sing a part of one of your old songs."

"We—well, I—wrote all the songs for the band. You wouldn't know any of them."

The redhead shrugged. "Oh well. You claim to be such a great singer, Ishida. Let's hear it. Knock me off my feet." She turned so her back was resting against the railing, now facing him. "It doesn't have to be much. Just sing something!"

Matt had shut his eyes midway through her little monologue. The blond was searching his mind for an old song, trying to figure out one to sing to her. Sora's eyes widened in shock as a beautiful baritone voice filled the air around her…

**A/N: I had to take out the song...It was originally You and Me by Lifehouse, which is not mine. Just pretend Matt is singing something here...**

"Did that convince you?" He asked, giving Sora a sly smile.

The woman was clutching the side of the rail with her hand so hard her knuckles were beginning to turn white. She was positive that if she let go she'd melt right there and most likely fall off the edge of the railing, over to the cars and interstate below. The words had a huge affect on her. Maybe it was because of the gorgeous, romantic backdrop surrounding them or maybe it was the three alcoholic beverages speaking, but Sora would swear he was singing it to her. "Wow…and you quit the band because…"

His eyes suddenly grew a stony shade of deep blue, reminding Sora of the way they were when the two first met. "We just…did. How are things going with the other contestants? You haven't scared any of them away yet, have you?" Matt immediately changed the subject, clearly not wanting to discuss the topic.

"Very funny; they're not too bad." She decided to play along, figuring she could breech the subject again later. Maybe then he'd be open to telling her. "There are some really nice ones and, of course, the occasional bitches, but you learn who's who off the bat. The girls I've befriended are all really nice, although we don't have that much in common. All Mimi could talk about today was this guy—oh my God! You'll never believe who she thinks is hot!"

"Me," Matt responded arrogantly. The two continued walking, passing now through an intersection, hotel still a good four blocks away.

Sora let out a laugh. "I highly doubt that,"

He gave a victorious smile. "Well, _you_ think I'm hot."

"I…you…ugh!" She glared at him, cheeks heating up. "She ran into Tai on her morning jog and can't stop talking about him."

"Tai, hot…in the same sentence? Maybe she should get her head checked." He laughed at his own joke. "Tai's not a bad guy. He, in fact, is the reason I found out where you ladies were all headed. He purposely ran into Mimi, flirted with her, and got the information. He may have a knack for doing that, but he's not good looking."

_Tai did something that smart? Who would've thought! _Sora resisted the urge to say what she thought. "That was mean; Tai's not bad looking."

Matt smirked. "Then why aren't you dating him? Or did you, and it didn't work out?"

She let out a laugh. "He's too much like a brother to ever consider it. It'd be too weird and…yuck! Besides, it would've been just wrong dating someone that I lived with."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Agent Ishida stopped again. "You lived with him?"

"It's a long story,"

He gestured around him, "We've got plenty of time, Takenouchi. Get talking." She looked away from him, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Takenouchi?"

"My parents were killed when I was eleven. Some men robbed my mom's flower shop, and both my parents tried to stop them." She choked back the tears that always came when she thought about the incident. "The Kamiyas were as close as any relative so I opted to live with them. That's the reason I wanted to go into the FBI and police departments; I didn't want others to suffer through the same things I did. There. I told you something you never would've guessed and…"

"You know," she was interrupted by the blond. The girl looked over to him, surprised to find a sympathetic look in his eyes. "We're more alike then I ever thought we could be. You asked why the band broke up…our drummer and his family were found dead on the side of a road when they went on a camping trip. It's horrible to think about; the murderer was never found. I decided I wanted to do something about it, prevent it from happening again. I gave up music to do this."

He looked down at her to see a warm, caring hand resting delicately on his shoulder blade. "I'm sorry, Ishida. No one should have to go through that. It's a really terrible thing. I'm sure you could've been really famous as a rock star or something, but it's really sweet and courageous of you to choose a harder path in life."

Matt hesitated, wrapping a comforting arm around her, afraid she was going to slap him or something. But she didn't. "Thanks, Takenouchi. I'd say the same thing to you. I'm…I'm glad you felt you could share that with me. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

"I appreciate that. I won't tell anyone about your band either."

Both removed their hands, feeling the invitation the other had granted them was up. The two turned and started walking to the hotel, a silence coming between them, though it was not at all awkward…

* * *

"Thank you for walking me up here. I could've managed and all…" Sora murmured in a hushed tone.

Matt held up a hand. "Don't worry about it; I wanted to."

They were now inside the hotel the contestants were staying in. It was nearly eleven o'clock—the two had taken their good old time walking back, as if they wanted to stay around each other for as long as they could—and already passed the curfew set for the contestants. Sora looked around a corner, motioning for the blond to follow her.

The two crept up the staircase and to Sora's room without being seen. "Well, I guess it's goodnight then."

He smiled at her. "Yeah, we have a meeting tomorrow night around seven thirty."

Sora nodded. "I'll be there; don't worry."

"I wasn't."

They looked uneasily at one another, neither really knowing how they should say goodbye. _A kiss is out of the question. She would definitely slap me. But I've never had such a good time with someone before. There's something about her that was there from the start that really made her stand apart from other women. And after tonight, I really know I like her for more than just her looks and fiery attitude._

_A hug is too brash; he wouldn't go for that. And a kiss—Sora, stop thinking like that! One night with him, and I've seen a whole different side of him. He masks his emotions so well, but once I was able to break through…he's just, wow…_

Their eyes locked, and the two settled with a handshake. "Tonight was fun. I'm glad we did this."

Matt nodded. "I am too. Goodnight, Taken—"

He was interrupted as they both noticed a bright yellow light coming from down the hallway. "What the hell?"

Sora's eyes darted that direction. "Quick, get inside!" The girl forced her room key into the slot and pushed the blond into the room the second the door clicked open. "Hide in the bathroom. I don't know what's going on."

He nodded, heading for the bathroom. She followed him in and grabbed a fluffy white robe that was hanging from the hook on the door. Slipping it on, she darted out the door, hiding behind a large set of vending machines and the ice machine.

A figure cloaked in black jogged past. Sora was unable to tell if it was a male or female by the baggy clothes the person was wearing. The person sprinted down the stairs before Sora could jump out to surprise him or her. _Damn it; that could've saved me the embarrassment of being in the pageant. Huh, what's this?_

She bent down, seeing something on the floor that wasn't there before. It was an aspirin bottle, and yet again, another sheet of paper. _This person either knows there's a spy from the FBI here or is a really lousy criminal._ She picked the two up with her robe so she wouldn't smudge the finger prints but nearly dropped them as another light shone in her face. "What do we have here?..."

A/N: Cliffhanger again, go figure. Please review! And have a Happy Easter weekend!


	8. Investigating

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

A/N: Well, I saw Ms. Congeniality 2 over a month ago and quite honestly, really didn't like it. But it motivated me to write this—though I haven't had much free time, which explains why this took so much time to get up. Hope you guys like it…please review!

**A/N: 12.19.08** I hate snow. I hate snow. I hate snow. I hate snow. I hate snow. Just had to get that out there. 10.5 inches....great thing to wake up to this morning; I guess it gives me more of a reason to sit down and read and write all day! :)

Chapter 8: Investigating

Sora felt like a deer caught in a set of bright headlights. She looked up as innocently as she could into the eyes before her.

Silence.

Then, "Curfew for all contestants was quite some time ago, little lady. Why are you outside your room?"

The guard was stern and strict, but Sora knew she could weasel her way out of trouble. It was time to put the naive contestant act she had yet to use into high gear. "I heard something out here; it was like someone went running by. I came here to check it out."

"Sweetie, save the investigating for the pros…"

_Chauvinist pig._

"…only because you heard the noise, I'll fill you in on the detail that must be kept a secret. There was a person running through the halls who we have been pursuing. But you can rest assured that your safety is in the best possible hands."

_I could kick your ass faster than you could cry for your mom._

"…so you can just head back inside and sleep tight. Leave the dangerous stuff to those who are trained to deal with it."

_You have no idea, bud._

"Goodnight," She sweetly lied, giving him a sugary smile before departing for her room. Both the bottle and paper remained hidden in her robe.

The redhead moved straight for the bathroom where Matt bore an amused grin. "And you think I'm bad."

Rolling her eyes, the girl grabbed a disposable plastic cup, dropping the two items inside ensuring her fingerprints were not on them. She then smirked, grabbing his arm, and pushing him to the door. Sora opened it, leaning forward, brushing her hand against his, giving him the cup and brushing her lips against his ear. Goosebumps grew on his skin at her seductive tone. "But you know I can kick your ass. Have these things examined, Ishida. I'll see you tomorrow…"

* * *

"What's all that racket?" Agent Ishida rolled up the sleeves of his shirt in frustration.

Tai shrugged, slurping down the malt he had just purchased. "I think Gennai's working with Sora. She's probably kicking and screaming. Any minute now we'll here a crash and the window'll break." He stated matter-of-factly.

Joe cringed. "You're exaggerating just a bit. I heard from one of his assistants, though, that they were having quite a few differences in there. She already blew up at him once."

With a sigh, Matt stood up, leaving the boardroom table where he and the others had been working, researching, or in Tai's case, eating, for the past four hours. "Where are you going?" Izzy asked, finally looking up from his computer screen.

"To intervene…"

The blond walked down the hallway of their base. There were only six more days till the pageant, and they were no closer to finding the Beauty Queen Killer than people were to finding a way to live on Saturn.

Matt had taken a huge burden on himself, going more in-depth with the current findings than the others. Everyone else—with the exception of Sora—was keen to accept the test results they'd received. But there was some doubt left in the leader.

Instinct told him something was missing, and Matt Ishida was always one to follow his instincts.

"Sora, the talent segment is a key element of the pageant, accounting for thirty percent of your total score."

It was very apparent to Matt that the old man was beside himself. While he stood frantically pacing back and forth, the blond had snuck inside the room, managing to open and close the door without attracting their attention.

"I told you already, Gennai. There are plenty of things I can do. You've just rejected everything. Why can't I juggle a soccer ball up there?"

Sora had placed her hands on her hips indignantly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. A black dress clung to her, tied together in a halter-top style, accenting every feature of her athletic form. It was pitch black until it reached her knees, changing abruptly to inferno red. Matt had to keep himself from staring at her in the dress most obviously for the evening wear part.

"Do I really have to answer that question?" Gennai sighed. "Can you dance?"

She glared at him. "Haven't you watched me get tortured enough while we practice that opening dance sequence?"

"Can you sing?"

"I'd scare everyone out of San Antonio."

The man was running out of possibilities. "Well, can you play a musical instrument?"

No answer.

"Sora?"

"I did take piano lessons for a few years. But that was a long time ago. I haven't played a piano since I was eighteen."

A light bulb had gone off. Gennai patted the girl on the back, anger vanishing as fast as a cheetah could run. He looked as if Christmas had come early. "We can work with that. I can find you a piece that has repetitive patterns over and over again, concealed by other features that make it seem complex when it actually isn't."

"Where are you going to find one of them?"

"That's what could be the problem. Most composers have elaborate, ornate pieces that…"

"I could write one for her."

Two sets of eyes darted to the corner where the blond was peacefully resting. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know you'll need some more help. I have plenty of experience writing music. I can get it to you two days from now at the latest."

Gennai's eyes appeared grateful but hesitant. Sora orbs were hard to read. But her smile made Matt's day. "Gennai, it doesn't look like we have any other choice."

Finally, the man relented. "All right, it does appear to be our only option." Looking at his watch, he picked up his briefcase. "It's about 9:30. I need to be leaving. I'll see you tomorrow night—6:45."

"Bye," Sora waved while Matt acknowledged him with a nod.

The blond faced the girl. "Do you want to go over our suspect list?"

The "our" symbolized the two of them. All the clues they'd found in and around the hotel had been tested but came back with no conclusive results…

"It's a wild goose chase." Tai exclaimed, chewing the chili cheese fries he had in front of him earlier in the day.

"Matt, I have to agree with him," Joe tried to reason. "All the equipment shows that someone had touched these things, but the fingerprints don't register anywhere."

Izzy showed him the computer printout. "The results are in no way connected. Face it; we've come to a dead end."

"I saw two different people drop these things. They could definitely be classified as shady characters. Takenouchi saw them too."

Agent Jones hadn't believed him either. "You were probably just tired, Matt. Keep working; don't dwell on this fake information. We need to crack this thing before the pageant..."

The redhead nodded to his question, snapping him back to the present state. "Yeah, where are we going to work at, though? The others will yell at us for "wasting our time" if we go out there."

He thought for a minute. "All the evidence we've gathered so far is on my laptop in my room. I don't want the others finding out we're still staying with our hypothesis."

Her heart fluttered from the request. "Yeah, let's go. I wasn't planning on getting back until after 11:00 anyway. We still have two hours." She picked up her bag of clothes she had on earlier before Gennai made her change into the dress she was currently wearing.

They crept out the door, hoping the other three would be too busy working— or more likely talking—to notice them together.

It was a change that the guys actually _had_ noticed a bit. Sora and Matt weren't close to ripping each others' head off. The two had appeared at best civil, but a couple of jarring matches broke the peace.

The blond opened up the door of his temporary residence, letting Sora walk in before he followed, shutting the door. She sat down on the makeshift bed, looking at the new surroundings. "Do you like it like this? It seems so simple and…"

"Bachelor's pad," He explained with a grin. "It's a guy thing. And besides, I didn't expect to be here long."

"Understandable, I guess. Really, two weeks isn't that long."

Matt sat down next to her, holding up his computer. "It's all on here. Everything's organized and ready to go."

"You organized them all?"

"I needed something to keep me busy while you and Gennai had your brawls."

Sora blushed at his flirtatious manner. "So, are you going to show me those files anytime soon?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Mat settled down on the bed, gesturing for Sora to lie next to him, setting the computer between them. "Well, here's our evidence."

He pushed the space bar, and the screen illuminated with a list of results. "Note number 1: Numbers."

Digits began floating onto the screen. "A1-201, A2-214, A3-300, A4-222…D1-302..."

"Can you make heads or tails of that?" Matt scratched his head.

Sora sighed. "It could be a code, but I don't see how such large number would apply. Perhaps they're coordinates of something."

He shrugged in reply, hitting the spacebar again. "Results from note number 2: Letters."

"C, D, F, M, M, K…"

"This is even more confusing!" The blond groaned. "I assume the letters and numbers match up together, but I can't find any connection between them."

"Who knows? Maybe a letter corresponds to one of the letters witha number behind 't there one more clue?"

Matt nodded. "The aspirin bottle; you and I both know that it plays a role in this."

The girl sighed, still in shock from what happened earlier in the day. She'd shown up at the headquarters with news no one was expecting. Jun Motomiya had gone to take some of her aspirin for some cramps. Apparently, someone had entered her room and replaced her aspirin with a similar bottle. Inside this bottle happened to be carefully replicated clones made up of some hazardous substances.

Jun was in the hospital as she had collapsed during dance practice early this very morning. She was doing well, and the doctors were able to flush the materials out of her body. She would be back in time to compete as well.

"Someone close to the pageant has to be involved." Sora stated.

"Or is a mole; one of the two. The papers have to be related to the aspirin bottle."

Sora closed her eyes, focusing on the places the notes had been found and the situation they found themselves in. _The letters with subscript have to stand for something. It has to be an obvious thing, something no one would think about._

She glanced at the notes once more. _A1-201, A2-214, A3-300…duplicate letters and then large numbers. The only numbers like that I can think of are room…_

"Matt!"

He faced her, a bit surprised she referred to him by his first name. _There's a first. But I have to say I like hearing her say that._ "What?"

"I've got it. The letters with the numbers each stand for a state. A1 equals Alabama, A2 equals Alaska…"

It hit him. "And the numbers after are room numbers. So Miss Alabama is in room 201. Miss Alaska is in room 214..."

Sora nodded, eyes lighting up. "Yep, then the list of letters represents the name of the contestant from each state!"

They looked at each other, beaming, and one step closer to solving a mystery. "How did you figure it out?"

"Truthfully," Sora admitted, "I have no idea. All I know is that now we have a case."

"Definitely better than the others. They have no information to work with. But we've got another thing they don't: a list of potential suspects."

"Did you compile this list while you were listening to Gennai and me arguing?"

He grinned devilishly. "Nah, because the two of you were so loud, I couldn't focus. Instead, I just watched the beautiful woman in front of me."

_Change the subject! Change the subject!_ "Are you going to show me the suspects?"

Matt winked. "No problem…I've got a lot of things gathered that I think you'll find interesting." _If she thinks she can change the subject, I'm just going to provoke her a bit._

Sora groaned, knowing he was trying to filibuster his way out of the topic, knowing as well that he could tell the flirting was affecting her. _Damn emotions._ She moved her hand to the keyboard, pushing the spacebar, seemingly not noticing the warm hand underneath hers.

"Suspect number 1: Jun Motomiya."

"It's stretching out on a limb," Matt explained, "but she could have purposely done that to herself for the sympathy image. The public's going to want her to win because a, she's from the host state, and b, she was attacked."

Sora had to agree. "I never thought of it that way, but there is a possibility she'd do that for the crown. Some of these girls are so focused on winning, it's just scary."

"Suspect 2: Mr. Fujiyama."

"We don't have plausible information pointing towards any specific person so I've been doing some digging."

He pulled out a printed document. "Where'd you get that?"

"Internet," He carelessly waved his free hand. "It was on the Miss America website. According to this, under Mr. Fujiyama's leadership, the pageant has landed itself in some scheduling conflicts, overbooking, and even a bit of financial turmoil. Critics have been complaining about the way he's run things. The Beauty Queen Killer could be a stunt—in the end, he and the administration could "save the day.""

"I don't know." The redhead was a bit more incredulous. "I can't see Mr. F. doing something like that. I'd be willing to bet it was his scatter-brained personality that caused all these problems. But, as you said, we have no evidence pointing any direction, so we have to keep every option in mind."

Her hand pushed the spacebar again, unaware that the blonde's was under it. "Suspect 3: Akira."

"The Akira? What would be his motive?"

Matt raked his free hand through his locks. "His last cd didn't go over well as expected. That's another reason he so desperately wanted this gig. Mark that in with some embarrassing coverage, it would do his status well to be seen as a hero."

The man handed her a stack of photos. "It's like he's purposely avoiding the far corridor, refusing to even look at the suites down there. Does he expect something to happen?" Sora wondered, examining the photographs.

Akira was arriving at the apartments he and the other guest judges were residing in. There was an entire corridor devoted to each. Being the first one to arrive, he'd had first choice. However, the singer wouldn't even look at the rooms on the far side.

"That's mainly because he hates the color green. Notice how the rugs and décor of that room are all shades of green."

"How do you know? Are you like a stalker fan of his? And where'd you get the pictures?"

The blond shook his head quickly. "No, T.K. interviewed him for the newspaper, and Kari took pictures that conveniently found their way into my arms."

_Sneaky. That was a good idea to have T.K. and Kari do. I can see how he got to be so high up in the FBI._ "But you didn't answer my first question."

He sighed. "When my band broke up, not all of us quit music."

Sora gasped. "You mean?"

"Yeah, Akira was back-up vocals and acoustic guitar. But it's not a subject I'm too keen to talk about. Let's keep going…there's one person left."

She let out a yawn, covering it with her free hand. "Okay,"

"Getting tired?"

"Just a little bit," Her head subconsciously began to fall, resting itself on Matt's shoulder. Neither made any motion for it to leave, both either not noticing it, or more likely, choosing not to care.

"Well, you do have a good reason to be tired. We'll look at the last one, and then I'll take you back."

"K." She murmured sleepily.

"Suspect 4—Mr. Oikawa."

"His niece is a contestant in the pageant, Ms. Nebraska, in fact. There's nothing that points in his direction, but in the past thirty years he's been involved with the pageant, of his three family members who've tried, none have won. He could be doing this so his niece gets the crown. We have to keep him on the list for the moment."

He looked down at the girl. "I never would've thought of a lot of these people. I don't know how you do it."

Matt chuckled a bit. "It comes with time. I've had plenty of practice doing this."

"Will I make a good FBI agent? All I've done so far is learn how to do a dance, though I still managed to screw it up every single time, try on a bunch of dresses, and answer some questions. There's nothing…"

He held up a hand. "You can do plenty, Takenouchi. Weren't you the one who figured out the connection between the two notes?"

"I guess…"

"You haven't had a chance to do what you do best. Agent Jones only takes the best, and I know he made a good choice with you."

She melted on the spot, closing her eyes, and snuggling up against his shoulder. There was silence for a moment as both were content in each others company. "Matt?"

"Yeah?" He let out a yawn as well, not realizing how tired his work had made him.

"We make a pretty good team, the two of us."

He smiled at her. "I think so too."

"Goodnight,"

"Goodnight, Sora."

He leaned down once more, finding her already fast asleep. The blond brushed the bangs away from her face, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cell phone. "Hello?"

"Mr. Fujiyama? It's Agent Ishida. Ms. Takenouchi won't be able to get back to the hotel tonight. She's exhausted from all her work with Gennai and has already fallen asleep. She's incredibly wiped out and…"

"Yes, it'd be better to let her sleep. I've heard horror stories from Tai about waking her up. Go ahead; I'll tell her roommate there's been an emergency she had to attend to. Bring her back tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, sir."

"Thank you, Agent Ishida." Matt closed his phone, settling back down next to the redhead. He noticed his laptop was still on and just barely managed to shut it off before sleep overtook him…

* * *

Sora's eyes fluttered open, trying to figure out where she was. _This isn't the hotel room. And I can't hear Mimi snoring. Where am I?_

She looked to her left.

_Damn it! That's the second time I've fallen asleep next to him._

He was still out, lying peacefully next to her, golden tresses sticking out in every possible direction. She smiled, gently running her fingers through his hair, surprised at how soft it was.

Cobalt eyes entered the world from the touch. He slowly blinked, looking over at the girl next to him. A smile crept onto his face as he realized what she was doing. Sora noticed him watching her and lightly blushed, removing her hand. "Good morning to you too,"

"Morning?" She shot up, hand that had been locked with his finally freeing itself. Her orbs found the clock. _6:00_ "Shit! We have rehearsal at 7:00. Mimi's going to wonder where I was all night. She'll start asking questions…I'll get kicked out of the competition…the FBI plan will be screwed…"

Matt placed a hand over her rambling lips. "Takenouchi, I took care of it last night. Don't worry about it; it's all cleared up."

"It is?" She asked, pushing his hand away. "Thanks," The redhead smiled after receiving the answer.

Matt stood up, stretching just a bit. "I need to get you back to the hotel without these guys knowing. But first you can take a shower and change out of that killer dress if you want."

She nodded, standing up and heading into his bathroom with the bag of clothes she had brought in with her from Gennai's work room long ago last night.

The shower started up, and Matt collapsed back onto the bed. _Get a hold of yourself, Ishida. How can she do this to me? I told myself I'd never love someone for fear of getting hurt like my parents. I know I don't love her…but at the rate I'm going, I sure as hell could…AHHH! Ishida, don't start thinking like that. She's just a woman. A hot, talented, unbelievable woman that…don't start thinking like that…_

His thoughts were interrupted by her voice. "Ishida,"

She sounded a bit hesitant, and Matt was sure he wouldn't be able to hear her if the water hadn't stopped. "Yeah?"

"Where…where are the towels at?"

_God, are you TRYING to torture me?_

Matt got up, walking to the closet at the far edge of the room. He picked up a few of the large fluffy towels before knocking on the bathroom door. "I've got some."

She slowly opened it up a crack, eyes saying she was sorry. He handed her the towels, and she quickly shut the door again.

_Why me?_

Sora emerged shortly, walking out with a green long-sleeved shirt and khaki capris on. Matt, in the time he wasn't debating with his conscience, had changed into a hooded sweatshirt and navy pants. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." They walked out the door in an uncomfortable silence. Finally: "I haven't had that good of a nights sleep in ages."

"Glad I could be of help," Matt mumbled under his breath, but Sora managed to hear him. "Come on, coast is clear."

Matt crept down the hallway, Sora close behind, both making a beeline for the outside without being seen. "Agent Jones just called. They got urgent new evidence!"

Izzy's voice could be heard and activity was jumping all around them. "We're dead," Sora whispered, face turning white.

Matt's eyes searched for an escape. He grabbed her arm, forcing her into the only thing he could find. A tiny broom closet.

Shutting the door, Sora couldn't help but laugh. "What?" The blond asked.

She looked up at him, inches away. Their bodies were pressed together as it indeed was a very small broom closet. "We've been in a few awkward situations this morning, but this by far takes the cake."

He let out a light laugh too, careful not to be heard. "A bit predictable, no? Girl and guy in the broom closet?"

"Are you insinuating that something's going to happen between us in here?" Sora whispered.

Matt gave her an irresistible grin. His husky voice found her ear. "What do you have in mind?"

She pushed him back a little ways. "Keep dreaming, Ishida."

"Oh, I will." He pressed his body to hers once more, this time opening up the door a crack to see if anyone was outside the door or in the hall.

"Let's go…"

* * *

Matt unrolled the passenger side window of the Subaru. "Meeting tonight again. You know the time."

"Of course. See you then, Ishida. Now find out what's going on at base."

"You know I will. Later, Takenouchi."

Sora snuck in the back exit, making it up to her room. "Hot date?" Mimi asked while blow drying her hair.

"I wish," Sora let out a fake laugh, and Mimi giggled along. "Urgent junk I had to be out for."

"Good to have you back." She stated. "Which outfit should I wear today?"

"What are your choices?"

"Pink skirt, black top. Pink top, black skirt. Pink pants, pink top…"

Twenty minutes later, they were all down at the Majestic Theater, listening to Mr. Fujiyama. "Ladies, we're now going to combine all your hard work with the different parts of the competition. It's time to master the art of perfection. Up until the preliminary competitions, we'll be practicing all aspects of the competition and getting them down perfect. Be prepared: the hardest, more laborious part is yet to come…"

_Oh great. I have a feeling I'm just going to love this…_

A/N: Please review!


	9. The Art of Perfection

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

Chapter 9: The Art of Perfection

Matt impatiently tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he sat in the grueling downtown traffic. _Well, it's nowhere as bad as __New York__, but I always seem to get stuck in the worst bit._

He checked the time, knowing full well people would be searching around for him at headquarters, particularly now that a new clue had been brought in. _I wonder what it is. It sounded urgent. They're all going to be wondering where I was. I'm going to have a hard time explaining this one._

The light changed, but the line of cars hardly moved at all. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the blond honked his horn, trying to take a bit of his annoyance out. This simple action prompted the car ahead of him to respond in the same fashion. It, unfortunately for the already irritated agent, started a domino effect, with each car around him repeating the gesture. _Great, now I have a headache coming on._

"Drama queens. I'm glad no one in the department acts this way."

"What?" Matt's ears perked up at the sound. He studied the interior of his vehicle, finding the radio off and no mechanical devices on.

"Thank God there's only one more week of this." It was a bit more muffled this time, as if the speaker was purposely articulating things softer.

But who was the speaker?

"Note to self: talk to Tai about Mimi. She seems kind of downtrodden lately."

_Takenouchi? Where's she coming from?_

As the traffic moved like a group of snails, Matt hastily checked his cell phone. She hadn't left a voice mail nor was she currently speaking, in case she'd called and he'd accidentally nudged the phone on. He glanced down, trying to figure out how he was hearing her. _Damn, I must really be thinking about her a lot. Maybe it's a hallucination. Maybe…_

"Yeah, I'll be there in five minutes."

_It's been here the whole time, and I'm too dense to think about it. Probably because I've been too busy thinking about her._

He mentally chastised himself, deciding that he might as well answer her, just to see if she remembered the little trait Izzy had placed in the necklaces. "I didn't know you talked to yourself, Takenouchi."

He heard a gasp. "Matt?"

"So, are we on a first name basis now, Sora?"

"How you are…what are…"

"Izzy installed the little feature on the necklaces."

Smiling, Matt resisted the urge to laugh when he heard her groan. _I bet she's really frustrated right now. Her brow is furrowed up, eyebrows narrowed, biting her lips lightly in that cute way she…get a hold of yourself man!_ "Why were you listening in?"

"Because I heard you…" He answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, I thought you were addressing me."

"Whatever. Where are you right now? Are you back at headquarters?"

He chuckled, glancing up to see the light change to red again. "I'm sitting at a stoplight in a huge line of cars."

"And why are you there?"

It was a new voice. Matt nearly jumped in his seat, surprised to be hearing someone. "Joe?"

"Dude, Ishida, where are you? Agent Jones called with some urgent news, and we can't find you anywhere. He's one pissed off man right now."

The blond raked a hand through his hair. "I'm stuck in traffic."

"Why'd you leave in the first place?" Izzy asked, joining the conversation as well.

"I had to run an errand and pick up some stuff."

"Are donuts included in that errand?"

Agent Ishida rolled his eyes. "Do you only think about food, Tai?"

"Among other things. You aren't out on a wild goose chase regarding those clues you and Sora claim are real?"

_If you only knew. _"I'm off running errands viable for the success of our mission." _Well, that's a way to say I was dropping Takenouchi off after she and I fell asleep together working on an unauthorized project._ "I'll be back in ten minutes, or as soon as I get out of the traffic jam."

"You'd better." Izzy replied. "So, Sora, how are things going for you? Punch anyone yet?"

She gave a sarcastic laugh, and Matt knew a glare had to have formed on her face. "You guys are hysterical. I've got to go. Some of us have things to do other than sit on our asses and shove food down our throats."

"Oooh. Good comeback." Tai catcalled, with the others following his lead. "Later, Sora. Get back here soon, Ishida."

"Whatever. Good luck, Takenouchi."

"Bye, Ishida," She murmured quietly. Matt's head fell into his hand, propped up against the steering wheel._ And to think I'm going to get interrogated again when I get back. I'm getting a huge migraine._

HONK! HONK!

He looked behind him, finding the line of cars and drivers all furiously signaling something to him again. Looking ahead, the blond sighed, seeing no cars before him, but the light was once again red._ This is going to be a long day…_

* * *

"Ishida, where the hell have you been?"

"And did you bring back any donuts?"

The blond slowly made his way into the conference room where Tai, Davis, Izzy, and Joe all sat. But they weren't alone. Seeing the very perturbed looking man up on the large computer screen caused Matt to walk a bit faster. "Sir, I was completing a task crucial to the success of the mission."

Agent Jones glared at the young man. "And what would that be, Ishida?"

"I received a tip over…"

"I've already been informed of the red herring clue you and Takenouchi received. We've talked about this, Matt. Drop the tip. There's no proof."

He was not happy with the young man. I've never seen him this angry before. "Yes, sir. I'll drop the tip." _But considering the "tip" that had me gone…well, what they don't know won't hurt them._

"Now, I'm going to briefly summarize the events you missed." The glare was back, extending from one side of the man's face to the other. "Kido and Izumi have been keeping tabs on the hotel the women have been staying in. Hotel management reported vandalism and upon cleaning the room, found notes threatening activity at the Miss America Pageant. We ran a check on the two people who stayed in the rooms. Our database came back with two individuals under the aliases of Tut and Brown Widow."

"So, what's happened with the two?"

"They checked out of the hotel last night, and right now, we have no leads as to where they're heading. They're our main suspects at the moment."

Matt scrunched up his forehead in doubt. "But what would their motive be?"

"The glory of completing the task. Their names would go down in the history books. I know you're still on about that false lead, Matt, but you have to get over it."

"Yes, sir. We'll check things out on this end of the spectrum."

Agent Jones nodded. "The pageant's in five days, men. Preliminaries take place in two days. We have to find out what's going on before disaster results. And none of you want to know the consequences should we fail…"

* * *

"I'm telling you guys, she was one hot chick."

"Does this hot chick have a name?" Izzy let out a laugh. "Really, Tai, do you think you're going to run into her again by chance? The two of you bumped into each other on a street corner."

Tai folded his arms indignantly. "Ishida told me to find her. She's one of the contestants in the pageant. He needed to find out some info on her so he could plan out some things."

"Sure," The men in the hall all challenged. The four officers were casually wandering down one of the halls at headquarters. They were fresh out of sources; there was nothing for them to do. Right now, they were waiting for some advice, for some leadership.

"Her name's Mimi. If you don't believe me, you could just ask Ishida."

"Where is our great leader anyway?" Davis asked, trying not to sound too sarcastic in case the blonde's ears were within hearing distance.

"I don't know." Joe answered. "I saw him greet Gennai at the door awhile back, but I haven't seen or heard from him since."

"I say we go check the room where Sora's practicing," Izzy announced.

Tai snickered. "We'd better bring our earplugs then."

"To muffle what?" Davis asked. "Sora's playing or their bickering?"

Izzy smirked. "Take your choice."

The group approached the large room Sora and Gennai had been working in for the past week. It was large and spacious with one door leading into the room. A large glass window lay in the middle, open for others to see into. The room wasn't soundproof, and they could tell as a loud crash of keys sounded out to where they were. Gennai came darting out, gigantic coffee mug in hand.

"I need an aspirin so bad. The rate she's going, she'll be laughed off the stage."

Eight eyes looked around. "That does not sound like a good sign."

Davis walked over to the glass, pressing his face against it. "Well, Sora's attempting to play the piano, if you'd call in that."

The others all joined him, each turning to look at the sight before them. "I told you Ishida was in here with her." Izzy proclaimed.

"Dude, no you didn't." Tai replied. "So are they yelling at each other?"

"It doesn't quite seem that way." Joe answered.

Though they could hear the music coming from the room but, they could not—sadly, in their case—hear Matt and Sora's conversation. The redhead was sitting at the piano, shaking her head back and forth. Matt came up behind her. He draped his arms around her body, moving her fingers to the right notes.

"He just whispered something in her ear!" Tai exclaimed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Came Joe's sarcastic reply. "Who would've thought she'd let him do something like that."

A quizzical expression found its way to Izzy's face. "They seem to be getting a long a lot better than before. You could go so far as to call them civil to each other. What?"

Tai let out a laugh, interrupting the genius's explanation. "I'll tell you why. It's because they like each other. Duh…"

"Dude, from what I've seen, Sora doesn't like any guy like that." The youngest male stated.

"It is kind of hard to believe, Tai. I've known Sora for such a long time and I've never seen her act flirtatious or showing any inkling of liking a guy as more than a friend." Izzy tried to reason.

"Think what you want to, guys. But I know I'm right."

"What's going on now?" Joe wondered, pointing to the two inside…

* * *

She hadn't started out that way. Her playing, considering she hadn't used a piano in a good few years, had been a little shaky, but nothing like the way it was coming out now.

CRASH!

She'd hit the wrong keys, causing a horrible sound to come from the object. The girl sighed, shaking her head. She was rusty, but that wasn't the only thing affecting her.

Goosebumps rose on her skin as a stream of warm air tickled her ear. His voice itself could cause her to melt, though having his muscular arms wrapped protectively around her only expedited the process. "Why so shaky, Takenouchi? You didn't even sound this bad before."

"Very funny, Ishida. You are aware we have a crowd watching us?"

His lips dipped lower, now actually brushing her ear. The blond could see her blush and hear her sigh at the touch. "Of course. Why not bring on the act?"

She let out a fake laugh. "You know, I could cite you for sexual harassment."

Sora was surprised to hear him laugh as well. "I could get you on the same charge. You drive me crazy sometimes, Takenouchi."

The girl turned to face him, careful to not let their faces touch. Not sure whether or not to infer a double meaning from the statement, she smirked at him. "Truce then."

"Sounds good. Now scoot over." He commanded, pulling himself away from her, pushing her to the left side of the piano bench before sitting next to her. "I'm going to brush up your skills."

His fingers began to dance across the keyboard, lightly waltzing from one key to the next. A familiar melody graced the air, and when the time became right, Sora joined in, playing the accompanying part of "Heart and Soul."

They played together, each concentrating on the simple melody before them, yet blending in perfectly._ It's like our relationship, whatever that is. When we're not arguing, we get a long so well. I can't wait to spend time with him, to be around him, to have him hold me in his arms and…Sora!_

CLUNK!

A smile grazed Matt's lips. "You aren't concentrating." He simply answered, stopping his own playing to look at her. "You haven't played in such a long time that any distractions cause you to mess up. Clear your mind."

"It's not that easy. There's a lot on my mind." _You being the biggest thing._

"Come on, Sora," he addressed her by her name, hoping it would help out, not realizing he was making things worse for her, "you can do this. Take a deep breath; think only about the music."

The redhead closed her eyes, desperately trying to stop thinking about him. He invaded her every thought now. She couldn't go anywhere without seeing his face. Matt Ishida was connected to something no matter where she went. "Keep your eyes closed and repeat after me," He instructed, seeing as she wasn't moving.

The male played a simple rhythmic pattern, one Sora had no trouble with. When he paused, she repeated the pattern exactly the way he had. "Good. Try this one."

The game continued on. He was the leader; she was the follower. Matt started off slowly, playing light, easy patterns before drifting off into the harder areas. She found herself more relaxed, more free, better able to concentrate this way. His presence, the thing that seemingly caused her so much inner turmoil, was actually aiding her more than being a hinder.

"There you go. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Sora opened her eyes, focusing on the attractive blond beside her. "So are you going to sit by me when I perform up there? It was a one time thing, Matt. I can't force myself to concentrate without you guiding me to do so."

He pulled out the piece of handwritten music she'd been struggling with before. It was the music he'd written earlier in the day after realizing he couldn't keep his mind off her and after already assigning others the needed work.

It was titled "Yamora." To her, there was no significance in the name. But he had titled it that way for a reason. Matt dissected each of their names, placing the Yam- in for his complete first name, Yamato, and the –ora in as the end of her first name.

Sora was a clever person, as intelligent as the blond. He knew she'd figure out the significance soon enough. _Maybe around the same times she figures out how attracted I am to her._

"Let's try this a second time. Close your eyes again and listen to me." His voice was soothing, radiating comfort and warmth. "Just imagine that it's only you in the room. Then imagine two people walk in. They are your parents. You're determined to show them everything they've missed—putting it all together in one song."

His fingers moved to her face, gently touching her eyelids, motioning for her to open her orbs once more. "These are patterns you can play. You know that as well as me. You just need to play with such an emotion that it can blind the judges from thinking the piece is too easy. Your playing won't be perfect in time for preliminaries, that's expected. But you can make it phenomenal for the finals." Matt paused. "Can you do that for me?"

_For you…of course. Damn, I'm going way too soft. I can't believe I'm even thinking like this. "_For my parents, yes."

"For me? His voice came out huskily, causing shivers to run down Sora's spine.

She gave him a seductive grin. "I'll consider it…"

* * *

Gennai stared at the four sleeping forms on the ground before him. I really wonder about these people some days. The man had returned to the room only to find a group of men, all officers, fast asleep underneath the large window. He, now that his coffee cup was refilled to the brim and painkillers were kicking in, was ready to continue on with his lesson.

As expected, Matt and Sora were in the room together, working on her talent piece. Gennai had sensed the two getting closer, starting when he had first met them. They seemed a bit distant from each other back then, but he could tell time was working on their side, pushing them together. How far together, he was not sure._ The rate they're going though, I could be helping plan their wedding in a few years._

He was afraid of the sounds he'd be hearing when he returned, expecting to find loud piano crashes and clinking notes. But the results were the antithesis of that.

It wasn't perfect playing nor was it the greatest thing he'd ever heard. But given where she'd been nearly an hour and a half ago, it was a significant improvement. "At least you won't get booed off the stage." He proclaimed, stepping back into the room.

The music stopped. Sora glanced over at him, and Matt stood up. "Gennai. We were wondering if you got lost."

"No, I was a bit frustrated and decided to take a break. It looks like the two of you got a lot accomplished while I was gone, though."

"I don't sound that great," Sora admitted, "but I've still got one more day to work on it."

"I'm glad to hear you're optimistic about it, Sora. I'm going to briefly explain to you the process of the preliminaries."

Matt took a seat, sitting back down on the bench. "Sounds kind of complicated."

"It's really not as confusing as you'd think. First up is the casual wear part. Sora, you'll walk out onto the stage in some sort of outfit you'd normally wear. It's nothing fancy, nothing special…just everyday. When you get there, after parading around a bit, you'll be asked an on-stage question by one of the judges."

"That doesn't sound too horrible."

"Next up is the swimsuit…"

Gennai was interrupted by a groan from Sora. "Swimsuit?"

"You knew it was coming." Matt challenged.

She sighed. "I'm just," the girl searched for the right word, "not too comfortable…flaunting…my body in front of others like a lot of the girls do."

"You're not going to flaunt it, Sora. You're going to show the world that you're a healthy, athletic young woman."

"Sounds like flaunting to me."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Continue on Gennai." He leaned over to Sora as the man rambled on about the swimsuit segment. "You'll be fine during that part. You've got the body to show for it. Now you just need the confidence. Don't be afraid."

His comment left her cheeks feeling red. She turned away to avoid him, focusing back on Gennai who had finally drifted to the next part. "Evening wear. We've already fitted your gown, and I assume you understand this part."

"Yeah, it'll be relatively easy. Is talent next?"

Gennai nodded. "Hopefully we'll get that down pat in the next day."

"I'll try my best."

He smiled at her. "That's what we like to hear. And finally, the last portion of the preliminary competition is a private interview with the judges. That section, along with talent, account for the most part of your score."

Matt raised a hand. "How does the interview work?"

"Sora will sit down with the panel of judges, each getting the chance to ask her one question. This will be your toughest part."

"Why?"

Gennai offered a sympathetic smile. "You will have to stay in the character we created for you the whole time. You are now Sora Lynn Rogers, feminine, smart, sure…"

"…sexy, independent, and strong." Matt offered her an irresistible grin. "Let your personality through. Don't try to make the judges love you. Overdoing it and sucking up will only hurt their impressions. But if you are yourself and can stick to the background we've made up for you, there's no way they can't fall for you." _I can vouch for its ability to do that. It happened to me, though I'd never admit it._

The redhead studied the blond next to her, wondering again if there was a hidden meaning in his words._ From the way he talks, it seems there could be. Could there be? Why am I getting excited about the possibility of him liking me? Why shouldn't…don't stop to debate that right now!_ "Is that all, Gennai?" She managed to control her thoughts enough to continue on with the discussion.

"For now it is. You'll find out the results on the final night. But as you already are guaranteed a spot in the Top Ten…"

She smiled. "I have more time to prepare."

"Exactly. Oh and Matt, here are the four press passes you requested for tomorrow's press conference." The man pulled out four laminated passes, handing them to the confused agent.

"That's great, Gennai, but I only asked for three."

"My mistake. I'm sure you can find someone to give the other one to." Looking at his watch, the man stood up. "Well, the next two days will indeed be busy. I'm going to let you go early, Sora. Goodnight, I'll meet briefly with you tomorrow to review everything."

"Goodnight," She called to the departing man. "Hey, where are you going?"

Matt turned around, upon realizing she was addressing him not Gennai, and flashed a smile. "I'm going to get the car keys so I can drive you back."

"Is this becoming a habitual action?"

"Remember, I'm a gentleman."

She snickered. "You could have fooled me."

Gathering her things, Sora soon caught up with him. The two had to laugh as they opened up the door, greeted by the four male officers, all fast asleep.

"I'm more of a gentleman than any of them." Matt said with a smirk. "Did we bore them?"

"Nah, apparently my playing was soothing."

"I don't know about that." He joked before noticing the redhead dig around in her purse. "What are you looking for?"

She pulled out some lipstick Gwen and Jun had forced her to buy the other day. "Care to join me?"

* * *

"They're not going to forgive you for awhile, Sora." Matt was still laughing as he pulled the Hummer into the hotel parking lot.

"They deserved it for spying on us."

He raised his eyebrows. "Do you always seek revenge when people spy on you?"

Sora shook her head. "It's not really revenge…it's just due payment."

"Remind me never to spy on you, then."

She began to laugh as well. "Why? I take it you didn't like being serenaded by a mariachi band?" He glared at her, reminiscing about the sour memory. "You deserved it for giving me a massage."

Matt's mouth dropped. "I was going out of my way to do something nice, and you went and freaked out!"

The girl unbuckled herself. "Thanks for the ride, Matt."

"Well, being the responsible, charming…"

"…arrogant, narcissist guy you are…"

Rolling his eyes, the blond shook his head. "If you say so. Look for me tomorrow at the press conference."

"So you're going to be spying on me again?"

"Whatever you want to call it. I tend to think of it as looking out for your own good." She couldn't hold back the giggles at his comment. He just continued on. "But if you feel the need to offer me…what was it?…a due payment, well, I'd say a kiss sounds like the perfect suggestion, as I am looking out for your own good."

Sora gave a hearty laugh. "You wish, Ishida." She opened up the door, intent on getting out and taking a nice hot shower in her hotel room. Back before curfew for the first time, Sora intended to get a good night's sleep and enjoy it.

But she hesitated.

Slowly the girl leaned over to the man next to her. A smile played on his lips when she tilted her head, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"I knew you liked me, Takenouchi." Matt was wearing a large grin, reminding Sora of a young child opening up his or her first Christmas present of the season.

She laughed again, now climbing out of the Hummer, shutting the door behind her. "That was an incentive to quit spying on me."

Matt shook his head. "I don't think that worked at all. I'd expect me to be hanging around more now. I'll be checking out the hotel tomorrow to see what I can make of the latest clue Agent Jones brought into play. I think it fits in with what we've found."

"You never told me what the new clue was?" She pouted.

"Don't worry; I'll fill you in on it tomorrow. I want to see if it's accurate first. Expect me in the most unexpected places tomorrow, Sora." He called with a wave, driving off onto the highway.

She sighed as she approached the doors of the hotel._ Why the hell did I just kiss him? I'm going to be up all night now…_

A/N: Next chapter—Preliminaries and a Press Conference. Please review everyone! I love hearing what you have to say. I'm going to be off in Colorado for about a week so no updates or reviews or anything from me until at least next Tuesday or Wednesday. Please review!


	10. Prelims

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon, Harry Potter, and "Let Me Go" by 3 Doors Down are not mine!

Chapter 10: Prelims

"So, given the different threats and vandalism that has occurred, do we have any reason to feel safe here?"

The middle-age man on the stage gave a frustrated sigh. "What kind of question is that? Of course we have a reason to feel safe! The Miss America Pageant is providing top-of-the-line security. We couldn't be in safer hands."

"But by saying that, aren't you giving so-called Beauty Queen Killer a calling card to come in here and wreak havoc?" the reporter persisted, doing his best to cause some ripples in the Miss America ocean.

"I stand by my previous statement," Mr. Fujiyama dropped the question, trying to stay as cool, collective, and professional as he could in the process. "Next question, please."

From her perch on the stage above him, Sora's eyes searched the crowd like a preying hawk. Her prey was out there somewhere. She continued her search, trying to find the familiar gleam of the golden-haired god. _I did not just compare him to a god. Good Lord, Takenouchi. Keep your head in the game._

She heeded her own slap on the wrist to some extent. The redhead's orbs darted back down to the multitude of journalists and cameramen. Finally, failing on her epic odyssey, she settled back in her seat. _He'll reveal himself to me eventually. He always does._

"We have a fantastic group of young women this year. I'm sure this year's competition will be one people will be talking about for ages." Sora had to smile. She knew how hard the man was working to reassure everyone that things would be fine while at the same time, building up the hype for the pageant. "Yes sir, from T…Tak…Takari News."

Sora watched as the reporter—probably in his early to mid twenties—flashed his pearly whites in Mr. Fujiyama's direction. _He's not bad on the eyes._ The girl studied him, taking in his crisp white-collared button-down shirt, tucked into a pair of dark black pants. His jade green eyes held a playful touch, one most journalists Sora had worked with before usually held. But what struck her most was the bleached blond hair spiking all over the place. _That doesn't look natural…_

"That's Takari News sir, straight outta northern California." Mr. Fujiyama gave a weak nod, motioning for the reporter to continue. "Sources around the States are stating that you've run into some financial qualms recently, Mr. Fujiyama. Can you comment on that?"

Sora groaned as quietly as possible, feeling her cheeks heat up for not realizing it sooner. _I knew that wasn't natural. Damn, Ishida; how do you always manage to do this to me no matter what disguise you're in? And what's with you and dying your hair!_

The pageant director was getting nervous. Evidently this was not a subject he was comfortable discussing. "Naturally when planning an event this huge and spectacular you are going to face some monetary issues. We've hit some walls, come tumbling down, but picked ourselves up, facing the problems we've encountered and fixing them."

Hands buzzed all around the blond reporter and a smirk came to his face. "Even so…"

"Thank you all for your time! The Preliminary round of the Miss America competition will be taking place in approximately ninety minutes. This will conclude our press conference. I would like to thank you all for your time and questions."

He fled the stage like a bat out of hell. Almost instantly, live action reporting sprouted. Sure, it had been going on before, but it was nothing like it was now. Matt Ishida rolled his eyes, seeing the men and women around him going crazy, nearly shouting into the camera any information they found, which, of course, they found ground-breaking and life-altering. _Dumb paparazzi. At least I learned what I wanted to know. And I got to see Sora…_

While he had been paying attention—sort of—during the press conference, the blond was sure he'd put on a good performance. His camera operator, Kari, and newspaper reporter, TK, had never doubted he'd been watching. And Tai had been too busy staring a hole through that Mimi girl up on the far edge of the stage.

Leaving him a perfect angle of Miss New York.

He had to smile, thinking about the way she was sitting there. He saw her looking around the room for him, giving up, and settling back down. _You'd think by now she'd be able to see through my disguises. Apparently not._ The woman was dressed in a pair of faded jeans with holes scattered throughout them. A short sleeved yellow shirt completed the look. _Apparently none of them are too dressed up. _

Indeed, it looked like the women had been told to show the world their everyday appearances, at least clothes wise. _I bet they were told to come dressed ready for the first round of preliminaries. The guys are all going to be very happy I scored us some tickets._

"Time to go?" Kari asked, snapping the blond out of his daydream.

"Not yet. I need to find Takenouchi and give her some last minute directions."

Tai grinned, turning to walk the other direction. "Sounds good,"

"Where are you going, Yagami?"

"I'm going to talk with Mimi." He paused, holding up a hand. "Yes, Ishida, I know the rules. Don't blow my cover. Don't let her know I know Sora. Yadda, yadda, yadda…"

His response managed to do something Tai had never accomplished before. Agent Ishida let out a small smile. "Fine, I'll send one of these two to get you later."

With a wave, the brunette headed off in the opposite direction. Matt, admitting something he never would've before, actually had to say he had a good time with Tai. Originally, according to the blonde's master plan, it would only be T.K. and Kari accompanying him.

But then Gennai gave him an extra ticket. No one else at the base had wanted to go—that, or Tai scared them all away from going. The agent, after spending a good deal of the morning with Sora's bush-headed friend, realized he didn't give the man enough credit. Though he didn't always act that way, Tai was quite clever. _Can't say I really consider him a friend, but at least now I do respect him._

"Yo, Matt, Kari and I are going to go ditch this camera equipment and then head to the gift shop."

_Intelligence obviously runs in the family._ "Go ahead, Teeks. I'll call you when it's time to go, though. One of you will need to get Tai."

"Sure," they happily agreed, lugging the faux camera equipment—all plastic, yet very realistic toys Matt had ordered a few days back—to the Hummer. He watched them disappear around the corner then began to look around the room.

Now, free from everyone else, he was ready to find her. Truthfully, he didn't really have any new instructions for the girl. It was all just a ploy. He just wanted to see and talk to her.

She was so addicting. Everything about her was a force of attraction, both the good and bad. She was his Helen of Troy, beautiful, intelligent, and full of wit. _Damn it, man! Next thing you know you'll be comparing her beauty to a rose or some other poetic crap. When the hell did I get to be so pathetic?_

It was the effect she had on him. They'd seemingly met only weeks ago yet he knew he'd been attracted to her at first sight. She'd proved over the course of all their fights and skirmishes to be everything he wanted and more. But she was independent, unwilling—so he thought—to reveal any of her feelings. She'd softened up to him quite substantially, and though he was happy with where their relationship stood—they may actually be labeled friends—could he want more? _I've never been one to rush into anything without thinking it over. But I've never felt like this before. Do I really want more with her? Do I want to further what we've continued to develop? Maybe this is one of those times that it would be better not to think and just to go for it. Wow, listen to me. I'm going soft. I've really got it bad for her…_

Lost in his jumble of thoughts, Matt had no idea where he'd wandered to. _At this rate, I'll never find her._ He rounded a corner, not paying attention to where he was going.

BAM!

From his spot on the ground, the blond expected to get yelled at, kicked out of the hotel for most likely being in uncharted waters, at least for the "reporters."

"Do you have a fetish for dying your hair?" It came as a harsh whisper instead.

He smirked up at the woman standing above him. Her eyes looked at him quizzically, seductive pout etched on her face. _But I doubt she knows she's doing it._ "Do you have a fetish for my hair? Every time I go incognito you _have_ to comment about the hair change."

Her cheeks turned red. "I'm just merely stating that your hair looks better in its original color. That's all."

"Funny," he stood up, "the way you talk, it seems like you're insinuating something more."

She gave a harsh laugh, leaning up against the nearest wall. "Believe what you want, Ishida."

He rose to his feet, cornering her to the wall now. "I will then."

"Is there a reason you're here?" _And trapping me against the wall? Making my heart go off to the races? Making me want to do something very uncharacteristic of myself? Damn you! _

"Can't a guy come to wish his partner in crime good luck?"

Sora rolled her eyes. "Is _that_ all you came here for?"

"What's your cell number?"

"Why do you want to know?"

His eyebrows rose. "What's with the third degree?"

The redhead sighed, pushing her hands against his firm chest. "Matt, I don't have time for your mind games. I have to get to the dressing room."

"Then tell me your cell phone number."

"Why?"

"I'm going to check out the hotel you were staying at. I want to see if I can get any information on the vandalized rooms and tie it into our theory." She looked at him unsurely, finally deciding it would be easier—not to mention faster—to give the persistent blond her number.

"And you couldn't have asked me last night?"

He smirked at her. "Slipped my mind. Look, I'll call you when I'm done. And call me during and after the competition. The guys and I are going to be down watching the preliminaries and we've got the room your interview is in bugged. We'll be listening in then as we obviously can't be there."

"Can you possibly get a recording of each contestant's interview?" The idea had just come to her. "That way we'll be able to check for any clues they might accidentally slip. So many of these girls will crack if the scenario is right."

"I can do that. I'll download them on my computer, and the two of us can listen to them sometime soon."

"Sounds good," Sora studied the man before her. He didn't look ready to move, and, she didn't feel like moving either. She was oddly very comfortable, close to him, and civilly conversing—with the occasionally flirting. _On both our parts. It just seems right. I can be myself, the real me that I've buried under my work and past problems. He was at first this stubborn jackass, but as I realized the reasons and gotten to really know him…he's just…wow. Could I be ready to start a relationship? Am I ready to let it all go and follow what my heart is saying? I think so…_

The clock on the wall broke them from their welcomed silence. "Shit! I'm going to be late and chewed out if I don't get my ass in there." She pushed past the man, stopping only because of the warm hand on her arm.

"Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck…"

* * *

"May I help you sir?"

Matt looked up at the man by the yellow police tape, glancing quickly at his watch. Still in his disguise, he had managed to get into the hotel the girls were all staying at. It hadn't taken too long to find the vandalized rooms because they were blocked off and being carefully watched. _Time to perform again. I need to get this information, and it's got to be fast._ _I have fifteen minutes tops. Then I have to get back to the pageant. The others will be waiting for me._ "I'm with Takari News out of…"

"Look, I'm under strict orders not to tell anyone anything," the guard's deep voice boomed across the room. "If you know what's good for you, scram! Now run along blondie."

_Apparently, I'm not going to be getting any information out of him. But that's my only way into the crime scene to investigate and get the information I need. I could tell him I'm with the FBI and show him my credentials._

"Is that a hard concept to grasp, blondie? No wonder they say blondes are dumb."

_Provoke me a little bit more, and you'll be seeing a side of Matt Ishida you never wished to. If you know what's good for you, you'll do best to stay out of a fight with me. Unless of course you want to end up in the hospital._

He watched as the brawny male stood directly in front of the taped off area—most presumably the entrance to the rooms in question—with his arms folded menacingly, trying to get his message across. _He doesn't look that smart, though. I'd have to scratch both plans. Beating the shit out of him will get me kicked out of the hotel. And he'd probably doubt my documents are authentic, and I'd have to prove they're true. That could take more time then I have and come back to bite me in the butt._

Dejected, Matt slowly walked to the front desk, hoping some idea would come to him soon. "Don't mind Mitch. He's a jerk," the woman behind the counter supplied.

Glancing at the woman, the new idea hit him like a wall of bricks. "I'm with Takari News out of northern California. I'm curious, has anyone bothered to ask you your feelings on the recent vandalism and terror here at the hotel?"

"Me? I'm just a part-time worker. No one would want that angle."

She looked around his age, probably fresh out of college on break. _This could be easier than I thought._ "But I imagine you have to know something. You strike me as the type of woman who would be worth listening to. One who would honestly describe a situation, throwing in no bias."

Her eyes lit up, and she smiled coyly at the supposed reporter. "Well, I do know some things…"

* * *

"Dude, what the hell took you so long?" Davis shouted, flagging Matt to come over to where the guys were all waiting. "It's just about to start."

The blond rolled his eyes. He casually pulled a set of tickets out of his pocket, handing one to each of the guys. "I was doing a little work, relax."

"We're not going to have very good seats." Izzy mused.

Joe's confused face studied the boy genius. "Why not?"

"These are general admittance. You can sit wherever you want. Basically, it's first come first serve."

"If someone would have gotten here sooner…" the youngest boy sent a chilling death glare in the agent's direction.

Matt only smirked at them. "Do you guys wonder where Tai is?" he coolly answered.

Joe looked around. "Now that you mention it…wait, he left with you this morning."

"Precisely. And he's been here ever since, holding down our seats."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

The man snickered to himself as his three companions all darted off to where their bushy-haired friend was "politely" fending off a group of middle-aged women from taking their saved seats. _Who would've thought they would go so crazy about getting to watch this. But then again, it is a pageant full of all sorts of girls. Girls obviously make us loose our normal demeanor. Takenouchi sure had some effect on me._

"Here they come! I told you they'd be here. Now if you'd please walk away and let my friends sit down."

The leader of the woman looked like she was ready to hit the brunette with her rather large, bulky handbag. But her senses—and the fact they were starting to make a scene—kicked in. "Fine. You'd think a young man could give up his seats for a bunch of older women. That would be the chivalrous thing to do."

Giving Matt a what-the-hell-did-that-mean look, Tai smiled. "I was here first."

She was ready to reply, appearing as though she was ready to snap when a man dressed in black slacks and a crimson vest approached them. "If you could please take your seats, we're going to begin."

With Davis leading the way, the four boys captured the coveted seats, Matt sitting down last next to a triumphant Tai. "Maybe next year, ladies."

If looks could kill, he would have been diced, sliced, thrown in a mixer and puréed. The women, as much as they wanted the very good seats, stomped off, settling near the back of the park the preliminaries—and the earlier press conference—were taking place in.

"You got into a fight with a bunch of old crows about seats?"

"They tried to take these," he indignantly replied to the blonde's comment. "What would you do?"

Matt had to hand it to him. _I probably would've bitched at them too. _He glanced around the area, seeing Mr. Fujiyama head to the main stage. _Looks like things are going to get started soon._

Tai really had done a good job choosing seats. _He probably wanted to be as close to Mimi as he was able to. I'll have to ask him how it went with her. _They, like the hundreds of other lucky ticket holders, were seated on cushioned folding chairs. The main stage, really the amphitheater of the park, lay elevated about two hundred meters due north of them. They had to be some of the best seats in the park.

"I would like to welcome you all to the Miss America Pageant preliminaries! We've been working with these excellent young women for the past…"

Matt's phone began to go off as Mr. Fujiyama continued to talk and get the necessary formalities out of the way. Thanking his luck that it was on vibrate, he answered it. "Yeah?"

"Bout' time you got here!"

"Glad to talk to you too," he sardonically whispered back.

The voice on the other end laughed. "Kari and I are off to your left and up a few rows."

"So the others…"

"Think we left. The last Tai saw of us, we were "hailing" a cab to go back to my apartment."

Matt smirked. "I taught you well."

"You wish. I picked that up on my own."

"Listen, I can't talk right now…"

"…too busy waiting for Sora to come out?"

"When'd you get to be so cheeky?"

T.K. laughed again. "Now that was something I learned from _you._"

"Cute, very cute. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Matt. Don't drool too much when Sora comes out in her swimsuit. She doesn't need an ocean to swim in."

_Arrogant little ass. He can be just like me when he wants to._

"Who was that?"

Matt turned to face Tai. "You wouldn't know him. Relative of mine. Very annoying." With a nod—though not completely believing the validity of his answer—Tai leaned back to listen to the rest of Mr. Fujiyama's address.

_One of these days all these lies are going to come back to catch me. I hope it's no time soon._

"So, it's my pleasure to announce the beginning of the Miss America preliminaries! First up is casual wear with an onstage question. Judges pick up your pens and get ready to meet fifty-two of America's finest young ladies…"

* * *

The familiar sound of a cell phone cut through the idle chatter of the room, prompting a groan from all its inhabitants but one. "Dude, Ishida! How many freaking calls have you gotten today?"

The blond stood up, stepping out of the room to take the call—ignoring Davis's comment in the process as it wasn't the first time someone had said that to him. "Sora?"

"Don't even think about laughing at me."

"Why would I do that?"

He could tell she was frustrated and getting just a little worked up. "Do I have to answer that?"

"Point taken. But seriously, you did fine out there."

"I had no idea what I was doing," he heard a door slam in the background. _Apparently she's getting a bit of privacy, not that I blame her._ "My mind went blank when the host asked me that question."

He raked a hand through his hair. "But you didn't give up and quit. You gave an honest answer. It made a lot more sense than some of the other girls' answers."

"It's just," she let out a long sigh, "I'm already guaranteed a spot in the finals. I want to make it look like I actually deserve to be there. If I make a bad impression with the judges, they're going to wonder who was stupid enough to vote me into the Top 10."

Matt couldn't fight it anymore. He laughed.

"I thought you weren't going to laugh at me."

"I'm not trying to be rude, if that's what you're thinking. You're trying too much, Sora. Relax; stop worrying so much. Just breathe, go into your interview, and stay yourself. Fretting about things will only distract you. I understand that you're under so much pressure and all, but you need to stop thinking sometimes. Don't think; just do. Follow what you're heart is telling you; go with your instincts." Matt paused. "And I have a strong feeling the judges already like you."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, I got off the phone with Gennai about twenty minutes ago, and he said he was quite impressed with the way you handled yourself out there. You didn't try to be Miss Superwoman, destined to save the world from every problem it's ever encountered. The judges respect the truth, not the fabricated fiction about "world peace" and all that shit. Your talent piece, considering the small amount of time you worked on it, went relatively well. And—luckily you're not standing next to me to slap me for the next few comments—you looked damn fine out there. Some girls looked too fake. Others looked too skinny. But you just looked…yeah…"

He had a strong feeling she was blushing on the other end of the line, and he could feel his cheeks heat up. "You know," she finally responded, "I'm surprised you're able to talk to me right now. I though your jaw would be permanently stuck in the down position after I came out during the swimsuit segment."

"…" _Ooh, burned. I should've seen that one coming._

"I saw you, Ishida. Don't try to deny it."

"There's the Takenouchi I know. I was starting to wonder if you'd gone soft, what with all this worrying and nervousness."

Sora's smirk was evident through the phone. "Don't you think you should be the one worrying about going soft?"

Matt brushed off the comment. "Don't you have somewhere to be right now?" he growled, upset for letting himself get caught twice. _Well, at least she's back to normal. She never fails to get her jabs in at me then._

"I suppose I can stop torturing you and go. So, are you guys listening in on the interview segments right now?"

"Yeah, they're into the "L's" right now."

She was silent for a second. "So…can you tell me the questions?"

He let out a rich chuckle. "The questions are different for each girl."

"Damn it." She recovered quickly though. "Have any of the contestants sounded suspicious yet?"

"None that I know of."

"Are we still on to listen to the rest of them?"

Matt smirked. "Well, today's Friday. The pageant is Tuesday night. With all the things on our schedules and with the things sure to come up, why don't we work Sunday over lunch at T.K.'s apartment? He won't mind; we can include him along with Kari. They'll be full of ideas."

"I don't know…would they really want to do that? It feels like we're intruding. Plus, we're involving them more into the mission. They weren't supposed to know. Matt, they _aren't_ supposed to know. If Agent Jones ever finds out…"

"Sora, we need more people to help back our side and figure out what happened. If we don't figure out who the Beauty Queen Killer is before the pageant, something very bad could happen. No one else believes our side of the story. We have to play it both ways. Our leads are going somewhere. We can't just abandon them."

"But…" she was silent. "Do we really have to lie to them? I trust Tai and the others with my…"

"Sora, I understand what you're getting at. But it's obvious they think we're crazy for sticking with our hunch. They'll never let us go after these clues. This is one of those times we're going to have to break the rules." She was silent again. Matt paced back and forth, knowing someone would come out to look for him soon. "Sora?"

"What's our story going to be? How are we going to sneak out?"

"I'll cook up something. Don't worry about that now. It's got to be about time for your interview."

"Oh God, they're onto the "N's" now. I have to go! I'll talk to you later."

He smiled. "Good luck. Call me when it's done so we can start planning, and I can fill you in on the hotel information I got."

"Okay…bye."

Matt ran his hands through his hair. _I never thought things would get this complicated. We're only four days away from the Miss America competition, and we still don't have a key suspect. I know it's dangerous, working behind the backs of the FBI agents and police, but we don't have a choice._ He walked into the building, going back into the room where the others were playing a game of bull shit.

"Bout' time you showed up? You got a secret affair going on with some chick?" Tai asked.

The blond smirked at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Duh, Tai, it's not one chick. It's probably like five! Oh and bull shit!" called out a smiling Davis.

"Damn it," Tai picked up the whole—very large—pile of cards. "Izz, it's your turn. Izz?"

"Guys, Sora's up."

Instantly, all thoughts of the card game and whose turn it was vanished. The men all turned their chairs to the large monitor Izzy and Joe had installed, focusing their attention on the redhead who had just walked into the ornate conference room. "Miss New York, Sora Lynn Rodgers," a man with a crimson top—one of the pageant volunteers—provided.

"Ah, Miss Rodgers, it's nice to see you." The eldest person, a man probably in his late sixties, greeted.

"It is nice to be here, sir," she replied with a large smile.

"Who is she, and what has she done with our Sora?"

Matt fought off the grin he wanted to show as the woman sat down in the chair allotted for her. "You're lucky she's not here to hear you say that, Kido."

"Why?" Tai's face bore an amused smile. "Do you know from experience or something?"

He chose not to answer that question, and luckily was saved when the man who had spoken before began to talk again. "I'm sure you're familiar with this part of the judging process. My fellow judges and I will each ask you a question, ranging from all sorts of topics. Give the answer that comes to mind first along with a brief explanation. Don't mind us; we'll be making some notes. Michael, why don't you start us off?"

Sora turned her attention to the well-known actor, waiting patiently for the question. "Miss New York, if you had one day as President of the United States, what issue would be chief on your priority list?"

"Well," she paused to gather her thoughts, "as someone training to go into the field of special-education and teaching, I think I would focus on America's kids. They're citizens like everyone else whether or not they are born 'normal' or with special needs. There are so many problems relating to kids these days, and I think that it's a problem that needs to be tackled."

"Good answer," Davis mused.

"Gennai trained her well," the boy genius responded.

The dull sound of pencil scratching on notepads filled the air. She bit her lip, eyes glancing around the room. Matt knew it was an attempt to calm her raging nerves.

"Miss New York, what is your secret talent?"

The redhead let out a light laugh. "Goodness…wow, I've never thought about that before. I'm absolutely hopeless in a kitchen. Don't ask me to bake anything." Two of women, including the person who'd asked the question, chuckled at her comment. "I do have a bit of a green thumb though. My p…my neighborhood," _Don't mix up your story, _"had a flower shop right on the edge. I helped out there one summer and learned a thing or two. My flowers bloom, but my cakes flop."

More laughter. "As you most likely know, Atlantic City, New Jersey—the traditional home of the Miss America Pageant—declined to host it this year because of some internal problems. I'd like to know your general impressions on the city of San Antonio."

Davis's eyes widened. "That's our mayor!"

"Well, we've been on a lot of guided tours with the pageant, and I like what I've seen so far. It's a bit different than the never ceasing hustle and bustle of New York, but I quite like the city."

Ken Ichijouji cleared his throat. "Why did you choose to participate in the competition?" She was silent, very unsure of how to answer.

_How do I explain myself? How do I survive this question and land on my feet?_

"Miss Rodgers?"

"That's kind of a hard question to be honest, Mr. Ichijouji." Sora looked at his nametag for reference. "I don't think there's one defined answer as to why I signed up for the pageant. All the different elements enticed me to join, but I think, overall, it was the thought that if I win, I'll have the ability to spread my knowledge on children with special needs and help make their usually ignored case stronger."

"I don't know how she does that," Tai shook his head. "She could always manage to get out of trouble when we were in school by her fast thinking."

"…while you were the exact opposite." Izzy laughed.

Happy with her response, Ken nodded. "Miss New York, please name for us your best quality and worst flaw."

"I think for myself, and I don't always follow the crowd. Sometimes things get bad or dangerous, and though it would be easier to jump on the bandwagon, I stay true to my own beliefs. As for my biggest flaw, sometimes I have the tendency to act before I think things over completely. That trait has gotten me into a few jams," the girl replied.

The youngest person in the room cleared his throat. "What is your opinion on the level of security the Miss America Pageant has put into play?"

Sora studied the speaker._ If I remember correctly, his name is Cody. His father used to be a policeman. No wonder he's asking._ "I think the security employed here is doing its absolute best and giving its hardest efforts to ensure the pageant runs as smoothly as possible. I don't think we give them enough credit, the police I mean. It's a hard…well; it's got to be a hard job. Don't you think?" _Stay in character!_

"I agree," Cody smiled at her, content with the answer she gave.

"Miss New York, what's the most important lesson you've learned in your life?"

"Never give up in your dreams, even if others don't believe in you." Matt smiled at her comment as he remembered their earlier discussion.

Joe nudged Tai. "Am I missing something there?"

The bushy-haired male could only grin. _Now I know there's something going on with the two of them. _"Apparently we all are, buddy."

"Sometimes what we want to achieve may be precarious or quixotic, but if you have nothing to dream for then what's there to look forward to in life? Living and setting goals walk hand in hand. We push ourselves to achieve and shatter the goals we set for ourselves, ultimately reaching skyward to our dreams."

The five men in the room—along with the others from the San Antonio Police Department who had stepped in to listen—could tell the judges were impressed with her answer. _And she was worried about them not liking her because? _Matt knew that had she been a regular contestant, she would've had a good chance of making it to the finals. _As of right now, that is. There are still three questions left._

Akira gave the girl a seductive smile. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Sora fought off the faint blush that was creeping onto her face. "No,"

"No?" he persisted.

"I believe you can fall in love with one's outer personality. But true love, the kind that really matters in life, can't be determined by a pretty face or at a first glance. Those kinds of things take time. I don't think you can experience love without going through a long drawn out process. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you loose. Love isn't about sweet nothings and happy, fluffy tender moments. It's about the ups and downs, goods and bads, jealous moments, nostalgic memories, pains, triumphs, and everything in between."

The singer flashed her a trademarked "lady killer" smile. "So I take it you've found your love?"

Izzy snickered. "That's the funniest thing I have heard all day!"

Matt sat quietly, wondering what her answer would be. _She wouldn't say she's in love. I know she likes me, she's halfway admitted that, but there's no way she could love me. But I could change that in the future…damn Ishida! Don't think about that now._

"Now, now, Akira. You're only allowed to ask one question. Don't worry about him, Miss Rodgers."

The man on the far end of the oak table cleared his throat. "Miss New York," his booming voice echoed around the room, "who would you consider your role model?"

_Thank God Gennai prepped me for this question._

"My father. He was such a positive influence on me in my life. Growing up in the area of New York that I did, I learned firsthand that there is often a lot of bad right in front of your eyes. Dad was always positive and encouraged me in ways I'll never forget. He was there for me no matter what. When he died though…"

"Wait a minute." Mr. Oikawa interrupted her, consulting the notes about Sora that each judge had been given prior to the interview. "Your father is not dead. It states right here that he's alive."

One by one the other judges all looked over there notes. "Shit…she is so dead."

"Joe, don't give up on her. Yet," Tai urged.

"What do you think they're going to do when they get her to admit she's lying?" Izzy asked.

"I can't believe you guys." Everyone turned to face Agent Ishida, a bit surprised by his outburst. "Don't you have any faith in here? She's smart enough to pull herself out of this deep hole she's dug. Imagine what Takenouchi would think if she knew what you said."

"Let me explain," Sora's voice snapped everyone's attention back to the screen. "I guess I should've told you a little more before I said that. I have a very close childhood friend who lost both his parents in a fire. They were, after my parents and friend, the closest people to me. He and I used to be inseparable. I considered his parents almost like my adoptive ones. I called his parents Mom and Dad, and he did the same to mine. So, where I left off before…my friend's dad, my "dad" was killed, and it really shook me up. My dad did the best he could to comfort both my friend and me, and at that moment I realized I wanted to be just like my father when I grew up."

Tai's mouth had dropped to the ground. "Holy shit,"

"You're telling me," Davis responded. "Where did she come up with that?"

"She switched around her parents and mine." Tai whispered to himself and only the blond caught it.

"I told you not to rule her out."

Mr. Oikawa forced a smile. "Thanks for the explanation. Go ahead to the final question then."

Sora could see him making a lot of markings in his notepad. Another glance told her he'd filled a few pages. _Why do I get the impression he doesn't quite like me?_

"Miss New York," It was her final question. The speaker was the man who had greeted her in the first place. "If you were in the _Harry Potter_ realm, what character—male or female—would you be?"

A true smile formed on the redhead's face. "I think…I'd be Lily Evans, Harry's mother. You never really find out about Lily's life; the only things the reader learns come from bits of sporadic evidence the author scatters in the book. From what I gather, she was a smart young woman but wasn't so focused on books and things that she didn't know how to live. Plus the red hair kind of words in my favor."

The man laughed. "Very true. I would like to extend a warm thank you from all of us for taking the time to meet with us here today. Good luck, Miss Rodgers."

Sora stood up, pushing her chair in. "Thank you very much."

The men watched as she walked out the door. Izzy hit a button that turned off the monitor. "Well, I think she did pretty darn awesome!" Tai exclaimed.

"Me too." Izzy mused. "At least we know she's guaranteed…"

The song "Let Me Go" by 3 Doors Down began to play. Four of the boys groaned while Matt stood up, answering his cell phone. "Hello…"

**Important A/N:** I'm heading to Mexico in one month. There's probably a very good chance this fic won't get updated again till sometime in the middle or end of August, **but** I'm going to do my best to try and get it done. On a brighter note, the sequel to "To the Highest Bidder" for any of you who have read that fic—if not, shame on you! Lol! I kid—will be out sometime next month. I'm guaranteeing this one will be out before I leave for Mexico, and I guarantee it will be done before the 6th _Harry Potter_ book comes out on July 16th. I'm not going to attempt to write anything that day; I'll be too busy reading. And _Harry Potter _is definitely more interesting than anything I write, at least in my opinion. But anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter. Please review! If you've taken the time to read the chapter, I'd really love to hear what you have to say! Your guys' reviews inspire me to write. Keep them coming.

**Next chapter: **Expect the romance to finally kick in…and not just for Sora and Matt! It's Girls Night Out, but do you really think the guys can leave them alone?


	11. Girls Night Out

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

Chapter 11: Girls Night Out

"Where did you learn to cook?"

Matt looked up from the grill after flipping one of the large, delicious smelling steaks over. "I, unlike you, can cook. Don't ask me to go out to the garden, though."

She smiled, taking a sip of her iced tea while leaning up against the outside railing of the deck, carefully watching the blond. "I'll believe that after I taste it and am still I alive. I can't understand why T.K. wanted you to be the griller when he's probably perfectly capable of doing it himself."

"He's my brother. He knows I know how to cook. Besides, he and Kari are in there making some salads. You're eating with the Ishidas, Sora. We guarantee a feast."

Sora directed her attention inside the younger blonde's apartment. Kari and T.K. were standing at the counter, their backs to the redhead and T.K. stationed behind the girl, arms wrapped around her small frame. They were attempting to makes a fruit salad to go along with the large number of salads they already had, but they weren't getting much accomplished.

The blond at the grill caught her gaze, grinning slightly at the serene expression covering her face. "They really care about each other. T.K. deserves someone like her."

"And Kari deserves someone like T.K. I bet her parents are glad she's finally found someone. Now they're going to start pestering Tai."

"I don't think he's that far off," Matt mused while checking to make sure none of the meat was burning, "after the way he was starting at Mimi the other day."

Sora laughed, one of Matt's favorite sounds. "Mimi's obsessed with him. You should see the way she talks—and never shuts up—about him."

An arrogant smirk grazed the blonde's lips. "So won't your "mom" and "dad"—Tai's parents—wonder why you haven't settled down yet?"

"No," she answered immediately, doing her best to avoid his soul-searching baby blues. "I mean, yeah, they want me to settle down and all, but both of Tai's parents know I'm going to take my time right now."

"I know what you mean. Dad's cool like that, but Mom's always bugging me because I'm never bringing a girl home with me, the very few times I stop by."

"I'm sure Mom will get over it all the first time you bring Sora over." T.K. walked out onto the deck, nose picking up an unpleasant smell. "I think the steaks are done…"

* * *

"So, what's the suspect page looking like now?"

Sora sighed, shrugging her shoulders in a nonchalant way. "We're not too sure. Matt and I agree to cross Jun off the list. While some girls are really bent on winning, she wouldn't stoop to that level."

"Jun's dating Joe Kido's brother. He's mentioned her before and said she's pretty nice but can get a bit annoying. And she's Davis's sister," Matt reasoned. "He swears more than anyone that she wouldn't do it. I trust his response there."

T.K. nodded in agreement. "Jun didn't seem like the type of person who would purposely do that just to win. We saw her on stage at the preliminaries, and she didn't act anything like that."

For the past hour—after Sora grudgingly admitted to Matt that the food was some of the best she'd ever tasted, with the exception of a few slightly burnt steaks—the agent and soon-to-be agent had revealed everything they discovered while knowing they could get into serious trouble for relating this information to two people outside the FBI. But, technically, it wasn't FBI classified work. It wasn't even FBI sanctioned.

"Matt, we're already too deep to back out but could this have been a mistake? If someone finds out…" Sora trailed off her statement, not wanting to finish or think about the what-ifs.

The two sat on the loveseat while Kari and T.K. rested on the floor, both checking over the clues the older blond had on his laptop. "We need more help. The pageant is in two days, Sora, and we haven't caught the Beauty Queen Killer yet. The others have absolutely nothing; Agent Jones is staring to think this whole thing is a setup. I just want to keep a disaster from happening even if it means doing some investigative work behind the FBI's back."

"I agree with you about that. I've gotten to know all these people. I wouldn't want to see anything happen to any of them, even the ones I don't like. But what will happen if someone finds out what we're up to? How much trouble would there be?"

Matt could picture thousands of possibilities, none of which he wanted to think about. _They won't be good for either of our careers. Most likely we'll end up buried forever in paperwork, but there's a chance we could be saying adios to our jobs._ "_If_ anything happens—_if _anyone finds out—I will take the full blame. The consequences will not be pretty for either of us, but you wouldn't stand a chance of joining the FBI. You've worked hard for your spot, Sora. You deserve to be there."

She couldn't believe he would do that. _Matt would take full responsibility for everything? But…it could cost him his job!_ "Matt…"

"Look," he harshly whispered, not wanting to get into the real why's and why not's. "Just trust me on this one, please. They're being shortsighted, not listening to our theories. But I'm giving you an order, Takenouchi. I'm pulling rank here. Please, if something happens, don't try to interfere."

Sora Takenouchi was _not_ happy.

"Ishida," _Great, we've reverted back to surnames, _"like it or not, we're in this together. I'm not going to let you take all the punishment. We're partners. And I don't need you to protect me from it because I'm a girl and not yet an agent. I can hold my own."

"I know very well you can hold your own. But I'm also your superior officer during this mission…"

"…but you're my partner here because our work isn't FBI sanctioned."

"Sora…don't be difficult. Just, listen to me. Please."

"Difficult? I can't believe you! You are one of the most stubborn creatures I've…"

"Guys! Akira can't be the guilty party!"

Their argument—though unknown to the two younger adults—ceased. "Why do you say that?"

Kari gasped. "You're right."

She shoved a picture at the two of them, both examining it closely. The answer hit the redhead like a ton of bricks crashing down. "Of course! Nice thinking you two."

"Someone want to fill me in since I'm _obviously_ not getting it." Matt snapped, a bit disgruntled from his conversation with Sora.

"You're as slow as you are stubborn." She hadn't said it very loud, but he heard it, nonetheless, prompting a glare in her direction. "Look at the color of the room that was vandalized at the Majestic Theater. The _green_ room."

Feeling his face heat up in embarrassment, Agent Ishida could have kicked himself for not realizing it earlier. "Akira wouldn't go anywhere near that room. And he wouldn't let anyone associated with him go near it. We always had to wait in a dressing room because he couldn't stand the sight even for a small bit of time. I guess we're down to two."

Down to two.

The four sitting in the room became deathly silent as if finally realizing the gravity of the situation. There were only two days left to figure out and capture the culprit in time for the finals.

Two days.

_I can't believe time will be up then. Will I see Matt after this? Sure, we'll both be in the FBI, but it's a big place. I…I want to be around him._

_I feel like Sora and I have known each other for awhile. It's hard to describe how far we've come. Will Agent Jones put us anywhere near each other? Will we work together again? I doubt it; he hardly ever does nice things like that. I…I can't let her go without knowing how I feel._

"Are the two of you all right?"

T.K. and Kari had both noticed the sudden change in the two adults. Each had a slightly pale face, eyes widened in shock. It was like a tragic love story, one where the leading male and lady had just realized they would soon be separated, unsure if their love would be allowed to survive. _Okay, maybe I'm being a little too dramatic._ Kari took another look at the two. _They've finally admitted it, though…at least to themselves._

"I'm fine."

"Me too,"

"Great," T.K. smiled brightly, "that means we can start watching the tape of the interviews now…"

* * *

"Thanks for inviting us here, you two. I had a lot of fun, and we got farther in our search for the Beauty Queen Killer. Thanks for everything!"

Kari gave the older girl a hug. "I miss seeing you everyday, Sor. Good luck with the rest of the pageant and everything. I'll be cheering for you. You'd better keep in touch with me after this is all over."

"I'd ask the same for both of you." T.K. beamed again. It was a contagious action, setting off a grin from the redhead.

"Hurry it up, Sora. You have to meet with Gennai in the next twenty-five minutes."

Well, it was contagious for everyone but Matt. He was still cross with her, and it was evidenced by his words and actions.

"I got it! Do you guys know that new club, Cancun? It's in the downtown district."

"Yeah," the younger blond nodded. "Why?"

"A bunch of contestants and I are going there tomorrow night, and it'd be great if I could hang out with you two once more. Come down!"

Matt interrupted Kari before she could respond. "You're going out the night before the competition? Doesn't sound like something you'd do."

"What I do and what I don't isn't your business, Ishida."

He glared at her, mood and attitude getting even more temperamental. "Kari, take good care of my brother."

"Of course, Matt." she replied, a little afraid of his current state. The girl reached over and gave him a quick hug. "Good luck with everything."

"T.K., we need to catch up more."

The younger blond gave an exasperated sigh. "We can't make it a habit to see each other once every few years. Give me a call, and Kari and I will come visit you in New York someday."

"Say hi to Mom for me." Shaking his brother's hand once, Matt pulled away, storming over to the door. "I'll be in the car."

Sora rolled her eyes as T.K. and Kari exchanged a knowing smile. "We'll try our best to get there, Sora."

"I'm glad. Well, Mr. Sunshine calls…"

"Sora, I don't know what's going on with the two of you," she held up a hand to cut the blond off, but he continued anyway, "but know that Matt is only trying to look out for you. He doesn't want to see you in trouble, particularly now that he understands what he's feeling for you."

The redhead was silent, trying to sort through everything T.K. had just given her to think about. With a final wave to the two, knowing she had to get going, the girl exited the apartment, a lot of weight now bearing on her mind.

Matt's increasingly powerful temper was just getting started so she said nothing to him as she buckled herself in. He turned to face her as he started the engine. "Do whatever you want, Takenouchi," he quietly, through firmly clenched teeth, lied. "See if I care…"

* * *

"Kamiya, where the hell are you going tonight? The pageant is tomorrow, and we don't know who is responsible for things." Agent Ishida's irritable behavior had continued into the next day, and everyone had played victim to its wrath.

"Look, I'm supposed to meet Mimi at this club, Cancun. She said a bunch of the contestants will be there. I'm going to do some spy work, check up on the girls. We got a lead about a couple of ladies being involved in some foul play, remember?" Tai finished buttoning his silky red shirt and fixed Matt with a hard stare.

"Yes, I remember. I just think you have better things to do with your time, particularly as the pageant is tomorrow."

But the bushy-haired brunette wouldn't buy that. "Why are you so damn moody? You're worse than Sora when she's PMS-ing…wait!" He had struck the goldmine. "You and Sora get into an argument or something?"

"I don't think she should invest her time in something so frivolous like clubbing at the current time."

"Lighten up, dude. She's just trying to play her part. If she didn't go, the others might wonder. Sora's been working her ass off the past two weeks. Let her have some fun."

For once Matt Ishida didn't have a sarcastic, witty or cold comment. He, much to Tai's surprise, didn't say anything. _I think I hit a nerve._

"And I—along with Izzy, Joe and Davis—am going there too. It's the only lead we have at all. I'm starting to believe Agent Jones is right; the Beauty Queen Killer could be a hoax."

Matt scrunched up his brow. "What of those killed?"

Apparently he had forgotten that detail. "I'm sure they can be explained. Look, why don't you want us to go? Could it be that you're jealous the woman I'm chasing after makes it known to everyone that she returns the feelings? Believe me, dude, Sora might not be one for outer emotions but inside she's like a firecracker on the Fourth of July anytime she sees you. I don't know where you guys go off to sometimes, like where you disappeared to Sunday…"

"We told you guys a hundred times. Mr. Fujiyama had stuff he needed to tell Sora because she's in the competition, and he wanted me to know since I'm the head of the operation." Matt indignantly interrupted.

"…don't think she doesn't return your feelings, Ishida," Tai had continued on like the blond said nothing.

"I'm not jealous of your chick, Kamiya."

Though a bit put off by the comment, Tai couldn't fight back a smirk. _So, you're not denying you and Sora have a thing._ "Come with us, Matt. I guarantee you'll have a good time."

"Unlike you, Tai," the blond remained seated at his temporary desk, "I know someone needs to keep working. There will be time for partying and celebration _after_ this is all over."

"If you're sure…well, you know where to find the rest of us. Later, Ishida."

Not bothering to look up from his cluttered desk, Agent Ishida grunted a reply. _It's a wonder any of them made it into the force in the first place._ He tugged at a lock of unruly hair in frustration. _Maybe I'm overreacting a bit. I'm on edge with everything here and with Sora. Kamiya says she does like me…I might have to look into that tip very soon. I wonder what…damn it, Ishida! You have a case to work on. Figuring out how to ask out the most stubborn, beautiful, incredibly fantastic woman you've ever met, get her to agree and make her fall as hard for you as you did for her can wait._

He pulled two documents up on his laptop. The forest of paper on his desk was just a ruse to convince the others that he was working on their leads and information.

_Two suspects. Two completely different motives. Two unclear questions marks. Two very large headaches._

With no plan of action, Matt chose to just dive right in headfirst, hoping he would float rather than sink. There was no clear cut way of going about it.

Mr. Oikawa.

The story with him was simple. He was a large contributor to the pageant and member of the board of trustees. It was only natural he be offered a judging spot.

But there was a twist.

After much research on Kari's part, the blond learned Mr. Oikawa almost wasn't given one of the judge's positions. Miss Nebraska happened to be his niece. His family carried a long tradition of beauty queens, but the title of Miss America had eluded them all. Oikawa's daughter, sister and mother had all participated in the competition, but the deer slipped free of the hunter each time. The highest place any had received was in the top ten. Miss Nebraska was the last female child in the family. This was their last chance.

_Could he want to ensure her victory and bring the coveted prize to the family at last? He certainly gave her an easier question than he gave the others in the question and answer section. She seemed rather dull and unexciting, though, even if she's not bad on the eyes. But she's definitely no Miss __New York__…FOCUS Matt!_

And what of the people at the hotel?

His own investigating—flirting with the clerk at the hotel—lit a flame through some of the fog. These two minions of whichever man happened to be the culprit were shady characters. Tut and Brown Widow were their names or at least what the cops called them. They'd checked into the hotel under two of, what Matt perceived, their many aliases. Wanted for all types of crime and sins across the U.S., these figures had somewhat made a name for themselves. But they weren't known to take orders from others. _Unless they were paid a hefty amount of money. Mr. Oikawa definitely has the funds, but he's not the only one._

Mr. Fujiyama.

It was no secret the pageant had entered a drought fund-wise, leading them up a creak to a substantial debt when the man inherited control of it. The money had mysteriously began to dry up as he took over.

Critics were predicting this year's competition to be another Black Thursday. As like that infamous day in the 1920's, things were looking to crash and burn. It seemed people weren't anticipating the pageant one bit. The media and public needed something to spark their interest, some sort of hype.

_The Beauty Queen Killer would be a fantastic ruse. People are going to watch the pageant tomorrow, wondering if perhaps something will happen._

But it was Mr. Fujiyama who had insisted the FBI send in an undercover agent. It was almost a paradox. _But he could gain even more attention by letting it slip that Sora isn't really an official contestant. I know he's their old teacher, but desperate men go often take desperate measures._

Twenty minutes from where he started debating with himself about the two men, he was still stuck right back at the beginning of the circle. _Two suspects and no new ideas. There's going to be hell to pay if we don't…_

He jumped to his feet, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Ishida,"

A groan escaped his lips as he shut the phone moments later. _Well this is freaking great. As if I don't have enough to worry about the way it is…_

_

* * *

_

She took a drink of the bittersweet liquid before her. The air reeked of alcohol and sweat. People were yelling and screaming to be heard over the obnoxiously loud music. Clothes were slowly starting to come off. She herself had just thrown aside the wrap sweater Mimi made her wear, leaving her in a tank top that, in her opinion, showed a little too much skin. But she was hot—she couldn't fight the heat spread by the number of bodies in the room and fact the owners had purposely kept the heat cranked.

"Sora Lynn! This place is so awesome! Don't you think?"

The redhead watched as her friend pushed and shoved her way through the sea of gyrating men and women. "Hey Mimi. Yeah, I'm having fun. Where'd your boy toy run off to?"

"Tai's getting more drinks. Yes, I'll be careful how much I have," she replied after seeing the reproachful look Sora bore.

"So, how's Prince Charming?"

Mimi's face turned pink rather quickly. "He's good. I've been having lots of fun with him tonight. I think things could get serious."

_Go Tai._ "You might want to reapply some of your lipstick, Meems. I think Tai might be wearing it."

The girl laughed at Sora's comment, grabbing the drink out of her hand, luckily managing to avoid spilling any, and took her hand. "Oh I love this song! Let's dance! All our girls are waiting for us. Besides, you're too much of a wallflower."

"No, I'm not!" she protested as the two joined their group of friends—along with nearly all the other girls from the pageant on the dance floor—as "Hollaback Girl" blasted over the speakers. "I've been out here plenty of times, dancing with all of you."

Hearing their conversation, Jun danced her way over to them. "But you've turned down every invitation _a guy_ has given you to dance! Some of them were really hot too!"

Yolei nodded her head in agreement. "She's right, Sora Lynn. You've only danced with guys when they've been here with all of us."

Catherine giggled. "I remember those guys. What were their names? Izzy, Joe, and Davis I think. They were all kinda cute. But Yolei's right."

_Apparently you didn't see me dance with T.K. earlier._

Mimi smirked at her, winking at Gwen. Sora knew something was up. "We dare you to go up to a guy and ask him to dance with you. Pick any guy in this whole place that you want."

"Are you in third grade or something?" _I don't want to dance with any of these guys that I don't know. I could ask Tai or one of the others, but they'd make me do it again. I know these ladies too well. I should have listened to Matt in the first place. I could be somewhere—alone—with him right now instead of at this dumb club._

"Come on, Sora Lynn!" Jun encouraged. "It's not that hard."

She turned her head, pretending to ignore the girls around her and their nagging. A gasp suddenly escaped her lips. _No disguise? No costume? No changed hair color? What the hell is he doing here?_

"Where's she going?" Jun shouted as Sora marched off in the direction she'd been staring in.

Gwen's mouth dropped. "Apparently she agreed to your bet."

Yolei snickered. "You would've thought she'd choose a guy who _doesn't_ have a girl hanging onto him, though…"

_And he yelled at me about coming here? He's such a hypocrite! What is he doing here now? Why did he come? And what's he doing with her…_

"Mmhhh…you obviously spend a lot of time in the gym. I wish all guys were as muscular and strong as you."

Laughter.

_When I get through with him, he's going to wish he never showed up. _She marched up to him, ignoring the blond bimbo hanging onto his arm. "Fancy seeing you again."

His eyes turned to face hers, and she sensed a foreign emotion in them. "Oh, I was just looking for you."

"Looks like you got a bit distracted."

"What do you _want_, Sora Lynn?" the girl on his arm—Miss North Carolina—spit out.

"He promised me a dance over an hour ago. Looks like I've finally found you."

The man ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry 'bout that. I was looking for you in the crowd and…sorry…uh…Laura? I told you I was looking for someone. Maybe I'll talk to you later."

"You'd better," she gave a false laugh, batting her eyelashes in his direction.

Sora tugged on Matt's hand, pulling him—to his surprise—out on the dance floor, wrapping her arms possessively around his neck as the music changed to a slower number. "Bimbo bitch. I can't stand her."

Matt, though completely bewildered, snaked his arms around her figure, pulling her as close to him as possible, chuckling as Sora gave the blond girl a smirk. "It sounds like you're were a little jealous back there."

"Jealous of her…you wish? If you want to flirt with slutty chicks, be my guest."

He lowered his lips to her ear, brushing his warm breath against them. "I think you are jealous."

They were both silent. Frankie J's "Obsession (No Es Amor)" filled the air around them, keeping things from feeling too awkward. Both of them knew his last comment was completely true.

"What are you doing here, Ishida? Last I checked, you were chewing me out for being here. Now here _you_ are. Hypocrite."

"I'm here for a reason, Sora. But what I do and what I don't do isn't your business," he harshly whispered the words he had thrown back at her days ago in her ear. The touch drove her crazy, even if the words were a bit rude, and she clutched onto him tighter, afraid she might do something stupid pretty soon.

"So am I."

Her whisper had the same effect on him. "I just got some important—very classified—information, but if you don't want to hear it…"

"I'm listening," she grumbled.

"Not here," his husky voice could barely be heard over the music. They both had to strain to hear what the other had been saying despite the fact they were talking in each others' ear. "Let's go find somewhere to sit down. You need to be able to hear me. Some of the others may benefit from it, but _you_ need to know as soon as possible."

Sora nodded, releasing his neck from her grip a bit reluctantly. She grabbed his hand, though, telling herself it was just so they didn't get separated in the crowd. _Like hell, Takenouchi._

But he didn't wrench free. Matt intertwined his fingers with hers and resisted the urge to smile at Sora's similar response. She let him to one of the few unclaimed places—a booth buried in the corner. The blond followed her in, forgetting their hands were still locked together.

There, in the dim light, away from the flashing disco balls and laser lights on the dance floor, he got his first true glance of how she looked. She was sweating slightly from the heat of being surrounded by so many people. Her hair was hanging straight as a board, floating onto the lime green tank top—_or whatever the hell females call those things—_and she was wearing faded, low rising jeans.

At the same time, Sora got to fully see his appearance, very gladly taking in the sight before her. _No wonder Laura was hitting on him._ His long legs were accented by very well-fitting jeans. The blue _designer_ t-shirt he wore was a startling shade, the exact same as Matt's eyes, depending on what mood he was in. _That shade is the cool and relaxed mood, the way I hardly ever see Matt. _"So, what's up?"

"Mr. Fujiyama called. Someone found out about everyone's plans to come here tonight even though you all were explicitly told to stay away from any clubs or parties. He had no choice but to send some guards from the hotel here. Anyone they catch here—someone apparently leaked that you guys were coming to this club—will be taken back to Mr. Fujiyama. Even you won't be able to avoid any trouble."

She looked for some sort of sign that he was joking but found none. _He wouldn't have come down here otherwise._ "Why didn't you just call me, Matt?"

"I forgot," his cheeks heated up in embarrassment.

She rolled her eyes. _But I'm not complaining that he's here now._ "I need to warn Mimi and the others."

"It's too late; they're on their own." He gestured to the floor. Sora noticed the same few men she saw guarding the halls at night, including the one who had stopped to question her when she found the aspirin bottle on the floor.

"You're right. They'll realize it on their own." _How am I supposed to get out of here?_

"Shit, they're getting closer to us." Matt glanced back in that direction.

The security guards had now taken to glancing at the booths in addition to prowling the floor. She could see two of the contestants scurry away from their partners, obviously understanding the guards were here for them and the others. "If they find me here, I'm dead. Agent Jones will kill me."

"Me too. And the other guys as well. We needed to stay at headquarters instead of get drawn out here."

She slunk back in the booth, unable to think of anything. _We can't run. There's probably a few guards stationed by the exits. I guess this is it._ "Matt, I'm sorry for getting you drawn into this. If I would've listened to you in the first place…"

"You were right. We're partners…it's part of my job to look out for you, Sora, but I also have to remember you're more than capable of taking care of yourself. I just wish things didn't have to be like this right now. If only there was some way we could avoid them and get back to headquarters. The guards will go after us if we leave the booth right now, though."

"What are we going to do? I'm completely out of ideas." She sighed, wishing there was some way out of this mess they found themselves in. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Tai attempting to usher Mimi out of the guards' way, pulling her toward the DJ. Yolei, Jun, Catherine, and Gwen were being split up by Joe and the others. They apparently figured things out._ I hope they manage to get out._

The guards increased their pace, not yet reaching the two but coming up fast. It suddenly came to the blond. _Why didn't I think of it before?_ He knew there was only one thing that would keep Sora from being discovered right now. _Please don't hate me._

Matt pushed her back against the booth wall, pressing his body to hers and blocking her from all sight with his body.

She looked up at him, adorably puzzled, fearful and concerned—a rainbow of emotions filling her. Their eyes met as if time had stopped, red and blue melting together. Matt slowly leaned down, eyes beginning to close, placing his lips on hers and surrendering to his only option but, more importantly, finally listening to his heart. _Don't slap me, Sora. I know you want this as much as I do._

The redhead froze at the touch, unable to think, breathe, move or do anything remotely close. _He's kissing me again…_ Instinct was screaming at her to pull away. Logic told her it was just a decoy, that he was only kissing her to keep the guards from noticing them; it wasn't a romantic gesture. Her conscience was having a heart attack. Her mind tried to snap her back to reality.

But it was her heart. Her heart told her to continue.

And Sora Takenouchi did just that.

Matt smiled against her lips as he felt her kiss back, both of them finally giving into the temptation the other offered. They had each wanted it for so long—though for both of them, it took a long time to notice—and it was now finally happening. Running his hands through her hair, he deepened the kiss. She locked her hands around his neck again, trying to pull him closer to her.

It hadn't been meant as an affectionate gesture. The kiss. It was, as Matt was planning, just going to be a simple, short, sweet kiss to hide Sora from view. But as soon as she kissed him back, he threw that plan out the window.

Sora emptied out every emotion she felt into the kiss. Her tongue traced his lips, and he let it in, allowing her to explore his mouth. A battle for dominance raged between the two. Matt pulled away to allow his lungs some oxygen but quickly regained her lips, frantically placing kisses against them.

She moaned against his kisses, berating herself for not allowing this to happen between the two of them sooner._ I think it's obvious now that we both wanted it to happen._ Her hands snaked under his shirt, feeling his strong muscular chest and abs. He massaged her back, darting his fingers underneath her tank top and gently stroking her smooth skin.

They both pulled away simultaneously, panting hard and searching for some air. Sora's arms moved to his shoulders, and her head rested against his chest. Matt held her tightly in his embrace, not wanting to let her go for fear that it was all just a dream. His eyes searched around the room for the guards. Thankfully, it appeared they were all leaving now. _But I bet they're going to wait to surprise us outside._ "I think they're gone."

"That's good…but I doubt they left." She was barely able to talk, left so breathless from the power and passion of Matt's kisses.

Their heads slowly came together. _She's so intoxicating. I can't let go of this chance now that I have it. I've been waiting for such a long time._

His lips sunk to her neck, lightly kissing it and running his teeth against the skin. She was unsure what he was doing, but the moan she let out showed her true feelings. The redhead lightly touched his cheek, bring his head up to hers and connecting their lips once more.

_I can't fight it anymore._

_I can't deny my feelings. We both know they're real._

Their kisses intensified, neither of them holding back on the passion. The need for each other was too great. She pushed him backwards a bit, moving to sit in his lap, neither stopping the barrage of kisses.

But as it is said, all good things must come to an end.

His watch beeped the time: 10:00. She—very reluctantly—pulled away from him. "Our…curfew…is in half an hour. We need to find someway to get out of here," she finally regained a regular breathing pattern.

He kissed her once more, nodding his agreement. Matt glanced around the room in search of an escape route. A flash of blond gave him an idea…

* * *

"This is so crazy! I can't believe it worked!" Sora gleefully shouted as Matt revved up the motorcycle—the first vehicle he'd seen in the garage. She climbed on behind him, watching as Kari winked at her, the last thing she saw before putting the helmet on.

The motorcycle roared off and soon she found herself flying through part of San Antonio. "Where are we going?" she yelled.

"I have no idea!" Matt was just happy that his plan had worked. T.K. and Kari, after finding out why Matt was there and noticing some of Sora's lipstick on his face, enthusiastically agreed to help the two out. They headed for the exit closest to where Matt had parked. While T.K. and Kari distracted the guard, the two older adults made a mad dash for the motorcycle.

Matt killed the engine, parking the bike a few blocks away from the hotel. Discarding his helmet on the ground, he turned around, taking the redhead's off as well. "I'd say this is fine for now."

"I can't believe you just did that."

"I can't believe I did that either. You're a bad influence, Takenouchi."

She smirked at him, gently kissing his neck, eliciting a gasp from the blond. "I knew there was still a rebel and rule breaker within you somewhere."

He brought her lips up to his, enjoying the feeling of kissing them again. "For you…I guess I do have a habit of bending the rules," he mumbled through the kisses they gave each other.

"Ishida! Kamiya! Kido! Izumi! Motomiya! Where the HELL are you all at? You have some serious explaining to do."

Matt winced from the sound of the very angry voice yelling into the microphone attached to the necklace he had. Sora covered her ears at the loud sound. "Agent Jones, this is Ishida. I'm off running an important errand Mr. Fujiyama asked me to do. It's viable for security…"

"From what I heard, that errand shouldn't have taken over an hour! Where are the rest of you?"

"Kamiya here, sir. The rest of the guys and I are off investigating our lead."

"And you couldn't have done that any other time? Get back to headquarters IMMEDIATELY! Ishida, find Takenouchi now and bring her here too! You all will be dealt with there…"

**A/N: Aren't cliffhangers fun? Hope you guys all enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to review! Oh yeah, I don't own either of the songs mentioned in the chapter. Hollaback Girl and Obsession just seemed to fit the scenarios though, don't you think? Well, this is my LAST update until I get back from ****Mexico****. It'll probably be two or three weeks till you read any updates from me again.**

**I've got the rest of this story planned out. There will be…dun dun dun…4 more chapter left. Things _should _be resolved by then. Please tell me what you guys thought about this chapter. Hope to hear from you all, and I'll talk to you guys again when I get back from vacation!**

**Please Review!**


	12. Caught!

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

**Dedication: To everyone who reviews! I could ramble on with apologizes about why it took me so long to update, but I'll just let you guys get to the –long- chapter instead. Oh, and to anyone who asked…****Mexico**** was a lot of fun!**

Chapter 12: Caught!

In all his time working at the FBI, Agent Matt Ishida had only seen his superior officer this mad on two occasions. The first time had been a result of a major security breech. A man had entered the division with an incredible resume, boasting of high and mighty accomplishments. Agent Jones was positively beaming—a trait _no one_ associated with him—at the mere mention of the man's name. But then, a good month later, it all went down the drain. He was a complete fake who forged all of his credentials. Agent Jones' wrath was large enough to feed the entire FBI for a year. The second incident was a bit of an embarrassment to the head official. He had caught his wife in bed with his brother…

_That was probably the worst one, but he sounds nearly as mad now as he was then._

Matt shoved Sora's helmet into her hand. "We need to jet. He doesn't get pissed off like this too often, but you do not want to be in his doghouse ever."

"How is he communicating to us?" She accepted the helmet as he climbed onto the bike but didn't put it over her head. "Isn't he back on the East Coast?"

That question had been lurking on the blonde's mind from the second he heard the all-too-familiar voice. "I don't know. But somehow he knows something and managed to reach us."

"Do you think he's really _that_ mad about no one being at headquarters tonight? Or maybe…maybe he knows something more."

Matt was getting a bit irritated that she wouldn't get on the motorcycle. "I don't know what he does know and what he doesn't." He ran a hand through his hair. "But we need to get there pronto. There's no telling what kind of lecture we're going to get. He might not even know anything. We just better get our asses there so things aren't worse than they appear to be."

Her lips melted into a smirk as she leapt onto the motorcycle and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso. "I know this is important, Matt. I just don't want to rush in there without some sort of plan of attack."

Sora's logical bearings struck him deep in the heart as well. Hadn't he used to want a plan for everything? Hadn't he always stuck to the book? Hadn't he been a cold-hearted bastard, driven by his work and unaware of others emotions?

Hadn't he been?

_That all changed with her._ "I think this is just one of those times we're going to have to take a risk and hope it works out in our favor. We've gotten ourselves out of sticky situations in the past and this one looks to be no different. We may have to wing it, but we'll both survive."

He hadn't been expecting the familiar sensation of her lips on his, but he definitely did not pull away. Until his mind caught up to him. Sora was smiling as his blue eyes studied her quizzically. "It sounds so completely foolish and illogical to do so. But…I think this is just one of those times it makes sense." She slipped the helmet over her head. "Let's go…"

* * *

Her fingertips grazed his lightly as they slowly made their way into the main quarters from the garage, hands entwined together in a gesture of reassurance and something else altogether. She couldn't, for the life of her, understand why she was this way around him—so touchy-feely and actually _wanting_ to be that way. Sora never allowed herself to be like that around guys. It was her mantra, her rule book, the basic law of dating. To be like that, at least for the first few weeks or months—dependent upon how long the relationship lasted, was a sign or weakness and being needy. She didn't feel obligated to play the poster role of girlfriend and Barbie to a Ken so many girls fantasized about.

But right now, she couldn't keep herself from holding onto his hand. Sure, it was a bit of reassurance. It was nice to know that she wasn't alone, that she wouldn't have to face Agent Jones' wrath on her own. At the same time, though, she was positively glowing in the memory of what had happened between the two of them an hour ago. The woman had pushed love out of her life only to see it waltz back in the most unexpected of ways.

"Sora, whatever happens in there…" Matt paused, looking through the windows on the door at the group and saw a big screen projector with an obviously angry man in his line of vision. "Stick with the competition. Don't abandon it should anything happen or should they know something we didn't want them to."

"Do you take me for stupid, Matt? I know my role and obligations. I won't give up that easily."

"I wouldn't expect you to. It's just with everything going on and all…" he gestured between the two of them, releasing their hands from their comfortable resting spots, "…yeah…"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, Ishida. C'mon, we need to get in there and figure out what's going on."

His eyes trailed after her figure as she confidently trekked into the room. There was the Sora he knew and, daresay, was falling fast for. He could gather why they were taking things so calmly before. They both knew the gravity of the situation at hand but nothing was ever lost by being optimistic. Agent Jones had been mad; however, they had no means of knowing what it was about. But right now, taking a glance at how the veins were nearly popping out of his face and his cheeks were a puffed out shade of fire engine red, Agent Ishida had a fairly good idea that optimism had just gone out the window.

"'Bout time you two showed up. The others have all been here for awhile."

"We were at the hotel," Matt lied through his teeth, a trait he had mastered _exceptionally _well. "I had just brought Takenouchi back there when we heard your message."

Agent Jones' eyes, reduced to angry black slits, searched the room menacingly. "Take a seat. We have some important matters to discuss."

Tai waved Sora down, and she gracefully landed in the open chair next to him. Matt walked over to the far corner of the room by Davis, eyes never leaving his boss' and sitting in one of the lone folding chairs. It seemed like only their group, the elite circle, had been called into the room. No one else from the San Antonio Police force or mission headquarters was in the room. But out of the corner of his eye, the blond could see two burly men in black, stereotypical FBI agents blocking the exits of the two sets of doors leading out of the room. _Yep, this isn't going to be good._

"Where were you all tonight? Why were you not here at headquarters!" the man demanded, looking as if his head was about to blow off his body at any moment. "I expect an answer."

Tai gulped as the man stared daggers in his direction. "I was at Club Cancun with the others."

"I think the others are fully capable of speaking for themselves."

Matt cringed to himself, knowing Tai was talking his way out of Agent Jones' favor. From previous experiences, the lone FBI agent in the room knew that his superior officer would make a clear-cut opinion of someone from the very start. And that opinion either went up or down.

And it was obvious what way it was heading for Tai.

"W…we got a tip about some of the girls being involved in some shady activity. This was our last chance to check into things before tomorrow."

"Why didn't you look into it before like you were supposed to?"

The bushy-haired man didn't have an answer. He hung his head in wallow, choosing not to say anything. Agent Jones glared at Sora, and she knew it was her turn to answer. "I was playing my role of Miss Sora Lynn Rogers. I was at Club Cancun with the other contestants because I knew that if I wasn't there, things would look suspicious on my part. I saw the others there, and they really were playing their part." _If Matt gets to lie then I'm going to as well._

He wasn't impressed with her answer either but let it slide for the time being. "Well?"

Izzy wasn't used to being interrogated. He was one who followed the rules and prided himself in doing that. He looked at Joe, sitting on his right, and knew the man was in the same boat. They had both gone to the club on a whim, knowing Tai's true intentions but also believing they could get some research done.

It didn't work out quite as planned.

They had gotten sidetracked by the ladies present. They both would be the first to admit that girls generally didn't jump in their direction but that certainly wasn't the case at the club. Izzy hit it off with one of the contestants, one of Sora's friends named Gwen. Joe had some nice conversations with Miss Alaska, both finding they had a lot in common. They'd gotten sidetracked by everything and it didn't help getting called into…

"Well?" Izzy nearly jumped out of his seat at Agent Jones' icy voice.

"My story is the same as Tai's. We went to that club tonight because all other leads led to a brick wall."

"We didn't find anyone whose story sounded off according to our records," Joe put in, understanding he was next in the inquisitional line. "But we did set out what we intended to do."

"And what about you? You're not part of this mission?"

Davis hesitated, unsure of how he was supposed to be answering the question. "I was put on the case by the San Antonio Police Department. Tai asked me to go along because I know my way around San Antonio…"

"Why did Kamiya ask you to go instead of Agent Ishida? I was aware that _he_ was the leader of this mission."

"I chose not to go," the blond coolly said, and all attention in the room drifted to him. "I stayed here to look over paperwork regarding our evidence and suspects but ended up at this club when Mr. Fujiyama, the pageant director, called me and asked me to get Takenouchi out of there before she got drug off by their guards."

"I was in communication with Fujiyama, and he informed me of your task. But with your credentials, Ishida, I'm a bit surprised it took you an hour to get Takenouchi out of the club."

"Guards were posted at every exit," he retorted immediately, this time actually sticking to the truth. "We had to wait for an opportune moment to get out of there. We had just arrived back at the hotel when we heard your message and came straight here."

Everyone was under the impression that he got his answers. Everyone was expecting a brief talk about what to do tomorrow at the pageant. Everyone was ready for the subject of tonight's activities to be dropped.

Everyone but Matt.

He saw the sparkle in Agent Jones' eye that only came when he had uncovered some important dirt, leaked to him by a spy or a mole. "Ishida, while I was talking with Fujiyama, I asked him about your meeting with him on Sunday. He was completely in the dark about this meeting. Apparently, it never existed. Do you care to fill me in on your true whereabouts along with Takenouchi's?"

_I knew there was something more to this._ "We used the meeting excuse to get the rest of these people off our case. Takenouchi and I had to run an errand to my brother's apartment. He is a newspaper reporter and had some valuable information on some of the judges that we never had before."

"Ah yes, Takeru Takaishi or T.K. as he prefers to be called. And am I safe to assume that one Hikari or Kari Kamiya was there as well?" Matt made no motion to answer. "Security tapes, Ishida. When we received transmission of the press conference, we were a bit startled to find two others with your group, two others who were not associated with the government, police or FBI. I had our offices run a search on the possible _accomplices_ you may have chosen, and I'd say we struck gold. And after the maid put a tracker in your wallet after I requested…"

"…you bugged me? What the hell! I've worked for you for the past few years, earned your trust and been put in charge of this whole mission and you take advantage of my trust and violate my rights?"

"Ishida, don't take that tone with me. You're lucky I haven't fired you. Yet. You strictly went outside the boundaries of the FBI syllabus for this mission, explicitly ignoring all our rules and traditions. You inserted civilian lives into our works and placed the entire operation in jeopardy. And I was right to bug you. It was quite apparent you didn't give up on that little rat race you preached at the beginning. All those places you went, all the people you saw…I gave strict orders to abandon your theories and you blatantly ignored me!"

"I'd do it again if I had to. Your options are limited, sir. You have no lead suspect or evidence on this chase. The pageant is tomorrow, damn it! Do you realize how many innocent lives are on the line here? I went out of my way, knowing it could cost me my job in order to save a group of people. Wouldn't you do the same in my shoes?"

"This wouldn't have happened if I was in your shoes! We would have caught the culprit weeks ago and would be packing up our bags, watching "Miss New York" compete in the finals. But your mission failed, Ishida. And there's a dangerous culprit on the loose. And don't begin to state that it is Mr. Fujiyama or Mr. Oikawa. I had your computer searched while you were out. You made it easy for us; everything was right there. In your haste, you didn't bother to log out of it. But you showed that you've been subversive, going against everything the FBI stands for. You are officially off this case, Ishida."

Since the debate—or screaming argument—between the two had begun, Sora knew things were heavily decreasing for Matt. She cringed as he was given his first punishment. _But I'm sure it won't be the last one._

"You will fly back to DC tomorrow at 0700 hours. You will arrange for your own—and the FBI guards accompanying you—to get a ride to the airport, and you will pay for the transportation and plane fare out of your own paycheck. When you arrive and after the pageant is complete, you will sit in a hearing with the board of directors of the FBI and face your fate. At best you will sit behind a desk for the rest of your life, submerged with paperwork and never venturing on another mission. But most likely you will be stripped of your title of an agent and kicked out of the FBI. You had a fine run here, Ishida, but your behavior on this mission only makes you deserve the latter."

"Don't you think that's just a bit harsh, Agent Jones?" Sora didn't realize she had said anything until everyone was facing her.

"Takenouchi, are you on the FBI?"

"No, sir."

"Precisely what I thought. You are not making the calls. I am. Ishida has gone up against everything we stand for on the FBI. I should kick him off right now, but we do things by court order and a hearing so he still remains for the time being. Why are you jumping to his defense? Did you stick with his theories or abandon them like ordered?"

She wanted to tell the truth more than anything. Matt's face was unreadable but his soul-searching eyes were sending her a distinct message: do not compromise your role. She wished she could be stronger. Sora didn't want to go up against what she knew and believed. But as Matt had said earlier, she must stay there and compete, all the while staying undercover in more than one way.

"I was not involved. I bowed out and threw in the flag immediately at your request. I tried to convince Ishida to back out too, but my efforts were to no avail."

She would be their undercover agent. She would do things their way, at least in their eyes. But all the while, she would be playing with fire, playing with her own game and playing with Matt's evidence. It was dangerous; she knew that full well. To be an undercover agent was one thing, but to be a double agent...that, in this book, was almost committing career suicide. But Sora had long forgotten about the role promised to her on the FBI. She had long since cared whether or not she got the payment she deserved for doing this. Now it was about saving the lives of innocent spectators and the women who had become her close friends. The game of cat and mouse was slowly dwindling, coming to the finish line but there was still one major part of the chase to go.

_And I'm playing by my own rules._

The blond slowly let out the breath he'd been holding. He could see the internal anguish written on her face and was afraid she'd back out of her promise. _I shouldn't have doubted her. But I need to talk with her before anything else boils down. She has to know what I found out._

"Were any of the rest of you involved in this?"

A chorus of 'No, sirs' echoed all over the room, and it was obvious all were a bit anxious as to determine Matt's fate. The possibly former agent's eyes ventured to the door on the far right as two burly guards came in. Matt let out a soft groan as the two faces that greeted him were two he would rather not see. "Take Ishida back to his room at the end of this meeting. You will need to pack all your possessions tonight. You leave tomorrow morning. The rest of you…let's just say the fate of many rests in your hands. _Don't screw up._ Take him to his room."

"Yes, sir," the two guards—Jake and Thomas, two of the FBI's officers Matt went through training with and despised with a heated passion—grinned sadistically in the blonde's direction.

"Wait a minute. Don't I get a chance to say goodbye to these people? I've been working with them for the past two weeks."

"Fine," Agent Jones barked. "Tell them goodbye…"

"…in_ private._ I'm not one who's very good with goodbyes, and I might think you don't trust me if you don't let me do this."

"You're digging yourself a deeper hole, Ishida. Sarcasm is _not_ needed right now on your part."

"Well you see, _sir_, I happen to deal with things that are complete bull shit in this manner." He was being testy right now, but quite frankly, he didn't care a rat's ass about it. His fate was seemingly sealed; it was no question. Agent Jones had already made up his mind. Even though the decision went to a hearing, his superior had unbelievable authority in convincing others his way was the only way things should be solved. _But I'm not going to stand for it._

"Fine, be a stubborn ass, Ishida. I never expected this of you. But apparently, I was wrong. You have five minutes." The large screen suddenly turned back, but Agent Jones' voice rang in the background.

Matt smirked at the two agents in front of him. "I'm not talking to the two of you so I'd suggest you leave me to talk with the others."

"We're not letting you out of our sight, Ishida." Thomas snarled. "You're probably planning on escaping."

"Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to try and run from the FBI?"_ Although you never know…_

"You'll talk here," Jake tried to come off as intimidating and powerful but failed miserably. The blond had to do all he could not to laugh at him.

"Actually, I think I won't. I'm going to talk alone with each one of these people. _Like it or not_…"

* * *

"Please remind me why I'm talking to you in the bathroom, Matt." Tai rolled his eyes as the two were crammed into the small room, whispering things to each other.

The brunette couldn't believe how calm and cool Matt looked. It was like he didn't care that he was most likely not going to be employed come the hearing. Instead, here he stood in a little bathroom, looking bored and a bit tired. "Look, I'm fairly certain they have that room bugged. I can't have said everything I need to say in there, now could I?"

"Why did you stick to your stupid theory after we told you not to? You had to know it would get you in trouble."

Matt had gone through this same process with all the others. It seemed almost a scripted conversation by now. "I've already justified my stance, and I'm not in the mood to argue right from wrong in our opinions. Just promise me one thing, Tai…"

"…I'm not going to follow up on your leads, Ishida…"

"…I wasn't going to ask you that. Look out for Sora. Yes, I know she can take care of herself perfectly well, but I have a very strong feeling she's going to be one of the Beauty Queen Killer's next targets," He sighed at the confused look Tai was giving him. "My gut is telling me this, Kamiya. Sora's been kicking ass in the competition; the judges love her. She's the perfect target."

"Why are you so concerned about her now and making it known? Did something happen between the two of you that I should know about?"

Matt gave an irritated groan. "Kamiya, this is not the time to talk about that! Can't you understand how serious things are getting?"

A knock on the door briefly interrupted their conversation. "You got a minute and a half left, Ishida. If you want to talk to this chick out here…"

"…don't call me a chick you dumb ogre!"

"Ouch…yeah, this _girl_ out here, then I suggest you wrap things up."

Tai waved his hand in Matt's direction. "Good luck, Ishida. We may not have always gotten along, but I'm cheering for you."

"Good luck here, Tai."

"See you later…oh and I hope you and Sora used protection."

Sora walked into the room, watching as Tai winked in her direction and Matt tugged at his hair in frustration. "What was that about?" she asked the moment the door closed.

"Tai's being his usual self. Okay, we obviously don't have much time…"

"…of course I'll look into the leads. That's why I'm staying here, isn't it?" She was trying to put a bit of humor into the situation, but the attempt wasn't as successful as she hoped for.

"Look out for yourself. I hit a bunch of dead ends regarding Misters Oikawa and Fujiyama. They're both key suspects, each with plausible motives and the materials and assets to achieve their motives. I just haven't found that key link yet."

"I'll look into it. What are your major points for each of them?"

"It'd be easier if I wrote that down." The blond looked around the room. "Do you have any makeup or anything I could use to write on this?"

Sora stifled a giggle as Matt held up a piece of toilet paper. "Does lipstick work?"

"It'll have to do." He furiously began to make note of the things on the thin paper, keeping things as simple as it could. It would be better for her to have this information with her than to attempt to remember it all in such a stressful time. _Let's just hope this works._ "Here you go…hey, can you take out your cell phone?"

As he was placing the lipstick and note into her purse, he noticed how familiar looking the phone was. She took hers out, and he did the same thing, holding the two phones up to each other and smiling at their similarities.

"Sora, can I keep your phone for the time being?"

Her eyebrows rose. "What do you need it for?"

"I need to check in with T.K. and tell him and Kari to lay low for awhile so the feds aren't bothering them. But I also need to call Lucas and see if he can be our method of transportation." He rolled his eyes at the stupid rules Agent Jones had put in play. "They've probably bugged my phone at some point in time. It'd be better this way."

"Yeah, go ahead. But you'll want to change the backgrounds and stuff while you're at it."

He nodded. "I'll get right to it."

"Twenty seconds!" a voice from the outside shouted.

"They're getting really into this 'only five…"

She was cut off as his lips passionately claimed hers. He pulled her to him, wishing this could be a proper goodbye kiss but knowing that was unlikely. "Given the circumstances…"

"…it's okay," she panted, "I know what you mean. Besides there'll be more time for that later. You owe me a few dates at least."

He grinned at her forwardness. "We'll see who owes whom. Listen, Sora, watch your back out there. Things are going to heat up really quickly, and I don't want to see you get burned."

"I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you. There'll be hell to pay when you get back…what?"

"I'm not planning on going back for a while?"

Silence.

"I'm going to find a way to be at that pageant and help you figure out who the guilty person is if it's the last thing I do."

Sora sighed. _He is so stubborn._ "It probably will be the last thing you do."

Matt kissed her forehead lightly. "Goodbye, for now."

"Goodbye," she shut her eyes and gave him a hug. "And don't do anything stupid."

"Would I ever?" he innocently asked as Thomas opened the door.

"Visiting hours are over. The inmate needs to go back to his cell."

_I think he's getting a little bit to into this._ Sora offered Matt one last smile before being pushed off to the side by one of the guards. She stood with the others and patiently watched as Matt was cuffed and led back to his room. _Okay, they're getting way to into this. Be careful, Matt…_

* * *

"Matt, how did you get yourself into this mess?"

The blond laughed at the expression he knew his brother wore. "I think you already know that, Teeks. They're shipping me back to DC tomorrow so I can 'sit hearing' to decide my fate."

"Let me guess: you already know what the answer's going to be."

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Listen, I need you and Kari to keep a low profile. Agent Jones knows you're involved, and he's probably going to corner you somewhere and make you sign a bunch of documents, swearing you to secrecy about all this."

"Not if we take it to the press first."

"You're even more foolish than I am."

"_That's_ a trait I got from you, Matt."

"Very funny. I got to go pack…"

"…if I know you as well as I think I do, Matt, I'm pretty sure you're going to spend the rest of the night coming up with a way to get out of this and stay here."

The older blond sheepishly grinned. "You know me too well, T.K. Hopefully the next time I talk to you, I'll still be in San Antonio and at the pageant."

"Don't do…"

"…anything stupid. I know, I know. Goodbye, T.K."

On the other end of the phone, T.K. wondered how he was related to Matt. _Somedays, the things he does really surprise me. The old Matt never would have done that. But I have a feeling something, rather someone, changed him for the better and brought out this rule-breaking streak._ "Good luck, Matt."

Agent Ishida, well he wasn't sure he'd be called 'Agent' much longer, stared down at the two phones in his possession. _I guess I'd better call Lucas and see if he can be our mode of transportation. T.K.'s right though; I need to figure out what I'm going to…_

His glance found the phones once more and an incredibly outrageous, insane idea came to his head. He had absolutely no idea if it would work. Matt was sure he was crazy enough to attempt it, though. _It's an idea for now, but I can work on the details as I keep planning. First I need to get my ride._

"Howdy,"

"Hey, Lucas. It's Matt Ishida."

"'Bout time I heard from ya again. I was startin' to think ya left town."

The blond gave a nervous laugh. "Well, that's kind of what I'm calling about, Luke." _How do I explain this?_ "I need you to do me a favor…"

* * *

"Would you stop tapping your foot? It's driving me crazy?"

"Well would you stop blowing bubbles?"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Where is Ishida at?"

Thomas looked at his partner who he had—unfortunately—been assigned with. "Ishida takes his time. I always knew he was a lazy ass."

"You and me both,"

Neither could describe how much they didn't like the blond agent. Both Thomas and Jake had worked their way up the ladder with him, starting at the same time in the FBI. From the very start, they despised him. Agent Jones never played favorites, but it was clear that if he did, Matt Ishida would be his favorite employee.

Ishida had moved up the ranks increasingly fast while the other two were stuck in an infinite mound of paperwork and annoying forms. While Ishida was out on the field, they were cramped indoors. It wasn't fair; he was nothing special. They couldn't understand what he had that they lacked.

"He had this coming to him. For once, I'm glad Agent Jones doesn't have favorites."

"Cause if he did, Ishida would have gotten off with nothing more than a slap on the hand."

"What's taking pretty boy so long?"

Maybe it was because he attracted the attention of nearly every female in the Bureau. Maybe it was because he had a shining record, jam-packed full of every achievement possible. Maybe it was because he had what appeared to be everything anyone could ever want.

But right now, he had nothing.

And they were going to rub it in.

"Get your ass out here, pretty boy. It's five till. Where's our ride?"

Jake heard a door slam behind him and out walked a very unbelievable sight. Matt normally kept to himself, but he could be sociable if he wanted and could definitely dress the part. But now, here he was wearing a black button down shirt, shirt ends sticking out. Black dress pants, full of wrinkles, stuck to his legs and nearly covered the brown shoes he wore. But the most surprising thing, even more shocking then the color and clothes selection he bore nearly made them faint.

He was wearing a hat and his precious blond locks were nowhere in sight.

Girls sighed at the sight of the hair. Guys teased him about the amount of gel he used. Women indignantly asked their boyfriends why their hair couldn't look that way. In all their experiences with Ishida, neither of the two guards had seen him like this.

"Cut off your hair in misery, Ishida?"

That damn smirk was back, the irritable look that always pissed Jake and Thomas off. "I really don't spend much time on my hair, contrary to public opinion. And anyway, why would I need to do anything to my hair when number one, no one's going to be looking at me because I'll be locked up in a plane all morning, and two, the gel's packed away in my suitcase."

"Where's your…"

SCREECH!

"Sorry 'bout that folks. I got stuck behind some traffic. Otherwise I woulda been here sooner."

"And you are?" Jake glared at the man, obviously not impressed by the driver's persona. He wore a pair of worn-out jeans and a long-sleeved flannel shirt. Completing the look was a trucker's hat, tipped at an oblong angle and showing messy brown hair off proudly.

"The name's Lucas, but y'all can call me Luke." He tipped his hat in a sign of respect, green eyes sparkling in the sun. Matt kept himself from smiling at Lucas's antics. _The guy never fails to make me laugh._

"Let's get this show on the road. We're already late. And Agent Jones does not approve of tardiness."

"Chill out," Matt lazily headed over to the door. "Agent Jones is already pissed off enough at me the way it is. What's he going to do? Fire me twice? I'm going to get my luggage." He smirked in their direction. "Don't leave without me…"

"Bitch." Thomas glared at Matt's shadow as he walked back into the headquarters.

"So…er…I take it y'all don't get along too well?"

Jake rounded on Lucas but still ended up looking up at the taller man. The two guards were trying out the intimidation tactic but were not pulling it off. Matt and Lucas were around the same height—nearly five inches taller than Thomas, the taller of the guards. Lucas looked a bit hefty but fit, as if he had spent his life working out on a farm compared to the way Ishida had gotten buff from working in a gym. With the physical intimidation clearly not working, it was time to get psychological.

"Listen, cowboy. You will not ask any questions on the ride to the airport. Better yet, you'll say absolutely nothing. This is strictly FBI business, and you're not a part of the FBI, now are you?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't worry about it. I wasn't plannin' anything like that. Don't worry; I'll be as silent as a mute." The cabbie leaned into his car and pulled out a fast food sack. "My breakfast." He apologized amidst their glares. "Is there a place inside I can dump it?"

"First door, take a right. Hurry up." Jake directed.

"And tell pretty boy to hurry up too."

Jake rolled his eyes and turned to his partner. "How the hell did we end up with him?"

"Ishida picked him."

"Sounds like the type of person Ishida would pick. Someone who would annoy us to no end."

The toe tapping and gum popping started up again as the seconds turned to minutes. "Ishida, don't make me come in and get you."

"I'm coming!" Matt called out but didn't appear at the door.

The cabbie came back out and gave the two a lopsided grin. "His luggage strap broke."

"Ishida…"

"I'm here. Jeez…calm down."

The driver put the luggage in the trunk while the two guards and their "inmate" got in the back of the cab. "Airport is comin' right up."

"What'd we tell you about talking?"

"Sorry," he looked back at him through his mirror and drove off…

It was the quietest ride any of them had ever experienced. Meaning, in other words, it was also the longest, even though the airport was a five minute drive from the headquarters. When the cab finally arrived, directed right to a private strip because of their clearance, they found the plane waiting for them. "It's about damn time you showed up!" a man aboard called out. "We're running late. We have clearance to go so let's get moving."

A flight attendant grabbed the luggage and Jake and Thomas boarded the plane. "Let's go, Ishida."

The two men still on ground level turned to each other. "Nice meeting ya and working with ya."

"Same to you. If you run into Sora at all, tell her I'll be watching."

"No problem. Your flight's boardin'. Better not let the 'men in black' wait any longer."

With a wave of his hand and a rude gesture to the two guards, the blond boarded the plane. Those on the ground directed the driver and his taxi to move out of the way, but he pulled over to the side to watch the plane screech off for New York City and a foggy fate. _You're going to have one hell of a ride there and a lot of explaining to do. Good luck. You're definitely going to need it…_

**A/N: Will Matt find a way to get to the pageant? Will they find the Beauty Queen Killer? And most importantly, who's going to be crowned Miss America? You'll just have to read to find out:insert evil laughter: Please review! I put this ahead of the scholarship application and article about Mexico I have to write for the paper because this was a lot more fun to write. I'm going to do my best to update this faster, but I'm not going to promise anything. Hope you guys liked the chapter! And don't forget to review!**


	13. Who Dun It?

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

**A/N: **I have SUCH smart reviewers! I love all of you guys!

Dedication: **nickygirl**—"Of course Matt will find a way to get to the pageant- he's Matt Ishida, for God's sake; he can do anything." _Amen to that! Lol. Such a cute, funny review. Thanks for all the support for every one of my stories!_

Chapter 13: Who Dun It?

**Five hours. **

She was almost to the point of counting down the minutes and seconds but figured she'd save that in case she got really bored. Right now, listening to the dance coordinator nag about how the girls were dragging when they should be picking up the pace, she was still at the point of sanity. Barely, though. _She must love hearing herself talk because she's rounding on five minutes now._ The moments were starting to drag on. Sora wanted nothing more than to go back to the boring routine of paperwork and writing up reports, something she never thought she'd want to do.

Her time in San Antonio and every waking minute spent on this case had been the adventure of a lifetime; she'd be the first to admit it. When Agent Jones gave her word of the assignment, Sora had to do everything in her power not to laugh or slap him. A beauty pageant? What kind of joke was that?

In her younger years, she could remember sitting in front of the television set with the Kamiyas and watching the pageant every year. Her surrogate parents watched for tradition's sake. Tai tuned in for the girls. Kari anticipated the glory and fame the winner received. But Sora forced herself to sit through things for an easy laugh.

People had tried to explain it to her throughout her whole life. She swore that if she heard the words "scholarship contest" one more time, she would freak out. In high school, some of her friends competed in these pageants, and Sora argued with them about their pointlessness to no end.

"Why do you never see normal-looking women up there? If it's not a beauty pageant, why do all the girls seem to be the magazine model types? Come on; real girls do not participate in these things. Real girls have better things to do with their time. When you find a normal, average girl competing on this, please let me know."

_Maybe I should let them know._

Though her view hadn't changed, per say, it had softened a bit upon meeting with some of the contestants. The girls she befriended fit the stereotypes but also avoided them completely. Take Mimi and Yolei. Mimi was a pageant poster girl. Born and raised to live and breathe competition, she carried that winner's aura that most girls in the contest were jealous of. Her beauty, talent and surprisingly smart mind gave off the whole package. Yolei, on the other hand, wasn't blessed with everything Mimi was. But she was true and sincere, full of energy, sarcasm and love, all mixed into one person. The two of them, along with the other girls she befriended along the way, had been her first set of actual female friends. Sure, Sora got along with the other female agents in the FBI and had some "friends" from college, but she couldn't relate to them the way she could to the girls she'd met in the last few weeks. With these ladies, there was a chance to talk about the things she'd been missing in life. She had a chance to wince at their discussions, wondering why she was polluting her mind with talk of fashion tips and which guys were the resident hotties this week. But Sora also gained the opportunity to hear these things, the things she'd been missing out on her whole life.

And that left her torn as to her feelings.

It could go either way. There were the goods of the competition mixed in with the bads. Some days she hated things. Some days she wanted to stay here and never get forced to leave. It was hard to describe. This contest had brought out the softer side of her character, the more relaxed and carefree yet still independent and hard-headed girl that had disappeared long ago. So, with that in mind, Sora would probably give the advantage to the pageant. _But then again…_

"Miss New York! Would you kindly pay attention?"

"Sorry, ma'am. I just drifted off a bit."

"Well, pay attention! Things are going to be a disaster the way it is. We don't need a horrendous dance to add to the problems."

But if you took into the count the dancing, the paperwork _clearly_ was a better option.

Chaos was too light of a description to account for everything that had happened here. Disaster seemed to be lurking in the air. It was as if someone had muttered the curse _Macbeth_ backstage, and the entire group would now pay the consequences.

An arsonist set fire to some of the sets that crews worked on for a good month. Now, things lay in ruins with them. A new group of construction workers and artists was hard at work, but it appeared that time would overpower their diligent efforts. Protesters outside the place yelled and screamed; feminists shouted profanities at the doors. Somehow, word had gotten out that the Beauty Queen Killer was still at large and that he or she was claiming responsibility for the set disaster. And in even more shocking events, the Killer promised—via e-mail to the San Antonio Police Department—that none of the girls were safe.

Mr. Fujiyama was running around like a chicken without its head. He couldn't stand still in one place for more than two minutes at a time. The man was nervous and shaky. His shirt showed that the area underneath his armpits was soaked through with sweat. There was no question that he had a right to be nervous; but the question remained: what was he nervous for?

Security had been patrolling the grounds all night. Cops were on watch, keeping the protesters at bay and guarding the area. Someone close to the pageant, or someone who had very close ties to someone in the pageant had to have a key. It was the only way they could avoid suspicion. With all this bad publicity coming along, people would want to watch to see if anything happens. _Desperate men do take desperate measures._

But…did Mr. Oikawa fall under that category too?

Sora had seen the man a few times since they had gotten here early this morning. He, too, was buzzing around, but the man didn't come off as nervous or uncertain. He didn't come off as smug and confident either. Mr. Oikawa was his usual stoical, unperturbed self. But did that mean he was hiding something as well?

_I'm as confused as Matt was. Boy I really wish..._

_Matt…_

For all she knew, he was in D.C. being interrogated and reprimanded by the dogs. But she also knew that if he had his way, that wouldn't be happening. Sora desperately wanted to find out what was going on with him. She'd considered calling her cell phone to get an answer from him, but then thought it better not to. What if the FBI agents—those two lumbering idiots—took away his, rather _her_ phone, and caught onto the fact that he had it? What if it were bugged? Though she had a way to contact him, it was crossed off the list. The last thing she wanted was for him to get caught if he had, indeed, managed to escape from the FBI. _I hope I'm not being wishful in thinking that he managed to. But he's going to be in loads of trouble if that's the case._

Sora thought about using her necklace communicator to reach him but vetoed that idea as well. The others would be able to hear her and would know if something was up. And could it even project that far? She highly doubted it.

She was on her own. Sure, the others were outside the auditorium, waiting to get their seats and patrol to the best of their abilities. They would be here with her, but they wouldn't be with her. It was a paradox literally but, truthfully, it was common sense. Tai and the others wouldn't let anything happen to her, but they were on a completely different wavelength. If something did happen, they wouldn't be tracking the right suspects. No one was posted behind the scenes with her.

Everyone backstage was a target.

She would've questioned Agent Jones' reasons why and why not. But she didn't feel like getting yelled at and get cited for some ludicrous charge or other. _He's way too high-maintenance. I'd consider him to be the Beauty Queen Killer or involved in some elaborate plan if Matt wouldn't have convinced me otherwise._

Matt…

She was back to him again. All night, during her tossing and turning and horrible case of insomnia, she had thought of him and only him. Though he haunted both her dreams, daydreams and fantasies, Sora Takenouchi never wanted to see him more. Every waking thought tied into him, and that was understandable as most of her thoughts revolved around this competition.

Paperwork definitely had the edge right now.

Sora hoped that she wasn't being naive in believing that he'd make it here. If she hadn't gotten to know him as much as she did, she may have doubted him when he said that. _But he once told me to expect him in places he'd usually never be. _And she really hoped that it held true…

* * *

**Two hours.**

The girls around her were nibbling on their food, gossiping and bitching about others behind their backs. As she listened to Catherine relating the latest rumor she'd heard, Sora pushed the food around her plate with her fork. On a normal day, she'd be scarfing down the food. The delicious entrees, desserts, and every other food imaginable reminded her of the buffet during her college years. Usually, the others would tell her not to each so much.

But it was the other way around today.

She wasn't hungry a bit. Her nerves fed her appetite, giving her nourishment and drink. Her mind was overflowing with information that she desperately wanted to share with the world. This was too much for one woman to think about. _I have no idea how Matt managed to keep it to himself and…stop thinking about him! Okay, I'm going to think of something completely different and not consider clues, motives, suspects and the charming blond the rest of supper._

"So, Mimi," the conversation had drifted, "what's going to happen between you and this guy? Is it going to last?"

The pink-haired girl seemed pensive as she munched on a grape, trying to figure out the best way to answer Jun's question. "I don't know, for sure. I mean, I really like him. He's got so many good qualities, and he's just so damn cute. But the distance thing could be an issue. I'm from Mississippi; he's from New England. Will that be a problem?"

"Distance really shouldn't matter if you like him enough." Yolei put her two cents worth in. "He seems like a really sweet guy, and it looked like he really likes you. Go for it."

"What do the rest of you think?" Mimi was anxious for more opinions, hoping they would backup what Yolei had stated.

Sora smiled at her friend. "You don't know for sure what happens in life until you take a chance. Maybe you'll end up on the east coast. Maybe he'll get reassigned to the South. You'll just have to see. But you're going to go on, wondering if you should have gone for it if the two of you don't try now."

"Good point," Gwen said with a smile. "But what did you mean by reassigned? He's just down here on vacation."

The redhead bit her lip. _I shouldn't have said that._ "I was talking about his job. Maybe, by some weird twist of fate, he'll get assigned to work down in the South somewhere. Then the distance issue wouldn't be so big. Likewise, maybe you'll end up in the Northeast."

Catherine nudged Yolei. "The next time I have guy problems, I'm coming to you, Sora Lynn."

Gwen caught on. "Yeah, you seem to have the guy field handled pretty well. Who was that hottie you snagged last night?"

"You certainly didn't waste anytime going after him." Mimi beamed at the redhead. "I taught you well."

"You guys told me to find a guy and ask him to dance. That's all I did."

She wanted to keep it as simple as that. No explanation meant no more lying. And no more talking about Matt. _So much for my game plan._ "But you just happened to choose a guy who all ready had a girl hanging onto him. Literally." Yolei pointed out.

"Don't you think I was doing him a favor? Would you really want her drooling over you and cooing over every move you make?"

"Calm down," Jun held up her hands. "You don't have to get so defensive, Sora Lynn. You took looked really cute together."

"Sorry," the girl replied, taking a sip of her bottled water. "It's just…been a long day. Things have been really stressful ever since last night." _I'm definitely not lying there either._

"It'll be over soon enough. I'm just going to be sad to see it go." Mimi admitted. "We all have to keep in contact and talk all the time."

Sounds of "definitely", "you'd better believe it", and, finally, the one that Sora was dreading from the start: "group hug" came from all directions. As the girls fought to hug each other with all their strength, giggling in giddy glory, Sora could only fight back a groan. _So this is why I hang out with guys…_

* * *

**_Forty-five minutes._**

"You know if you pace around much longer, you're going to leave a hole in the floor."

Sora glared at the man next to her. He seemed calm and relaxed, unabashed by the pandemonium surrounding them. Girls ran left and right on last minute quests for missing lipstick and curlers. The food table in the middle of the room lay untouched. The barren gift table, nearly two feet long, was gleaming from the barrage of spotlights hitting it, causing it to shine proudly while it waited to be filled soon.

Sora was now dressed in her jean capris with a blue and orange halter top. She was given five different options for shirts in those colors to be matched up with five different types of bottoms. In the end, having really no say in the matter—except a loud "Hell no!" to the jean mini skirt—Gennai decided on the outfit for her.

Here they were, clock ticking down and nerves setting in, as the time till the pageant began got even closer. Sora could see some of her friends mulling around each other, helping with last minute wardrobe issues and hair problems. Some of the girls, Miss New York included, also brought along trainers or coaches to help with any details. "I can't do this, Gennai."

"Sora, you are more than capable. I think you've proven that by now."

"In your eyes, maybe. But in front of the whole world?" She pulled the man aside. "You and I both know that I'm no beauty queen."

"You may not be a beauty queen by definition, but look at how far you've come and the things you've learned. I think you proved you can fight for the crown, and that you don't have to be trained in the art of competitions to do this. Relax; stay calm. You are almost done with this."

"But we still have to concentrate on finding the Beauty Queen Killer. And from…"

"AHHHH!"

Sora's crimson eyes searched the room for the person the voice belonged to. They landed on Miss North Carolina, the woman she'd snubbed last night for Matt. But, as much as she didn't like the girl, Sora knew it was her duty to help her.

Too bad she wasn't in trouble.

"Look! The presents and flowers are here, ladies!" She led the charge as, one by one, girls all around the room sprinted up to the three men, all of whom were struggling under the weight of many flowers and balloons. "Is there one for Miss Laura…"

Sora rolled her eyes as the pile around the guys grew larger. She tried to fight back the laughter that was gathering in her throat. The guys all were around her age and dealt with the attention in three completely different ways. The first man, a redhead, put on his best "lady-killer" smile and tried to balance as many things as he could in one hand so he was free to greet the female population that was approaching faster than a freight train. He successfully lasted about thirty seconds. By that time, he realized he needed both hands. Man number two stood calm and cool, brushing the wavy locks out of his hair as he warmly welcomed the girls flocking to him. The third man paled considerably. He placed his gifts down and hurried over to the nearest exit, nearly bumping into another deliver.

The man had attracted no attention, and it seemed he wanted it that way. He snuck around the girls, bobbing and darting so none of the potted plants and ridiculously gaudy balloons fell to the ground, getting in and out as quickly as possible. As he turned around, he caught Sora's eye and winked.

Feeling slightly suspicious—and thinking her brain was playing an awfully mean trick on her—Sora followed him out the door. And her incredulous thoughts were confirmed.

"How…what…you're going to be in _so_ much trouble, Matt!"

"No hi, how you doing, glad to see you?" His smile rivaled an impish elf. Sora had seen through his disguise and ruse for the first time since he'd been pulling all these incognito stunts. Though his hair was now chocolately brown with speckles of blond coating it and he was dressed in an "Ann's Gifts and Flowers" shirt, his eyes, those brilliant pools of sapphires, shone like powerful stars and were his revealing feature.

"It's more along the lines of how the hell did you manage to escape the FBI, but, yes, now that the shock of you pulling a Houdini has swept over, I'm glad to see you."

"Good," he whispered, glancing around quickly before leaning down and giving her a sweet kiss full of ambiguous meaning. "Mmh…you taste good."

She glared at him. "I'd hope so considering you took all my lip gloss off. As thrilled as I am that you're here and gracing me with your charming presence, how did you do it? And how did you manage to get here without someone finding you?"

His badass grin was so sexy and powerful that it nearly swept Sora off her feet. "It's kind of a funny story…"

* * *

**-****Washington****DC****, Mid-morning-**

The jet screamed down on the runway, gradually slowing down and beginning to taxi around. Smug looks graced Jake and Thomas's faces. They never would've imagined this happening in their wildest dreams. This was something they'd hoped and wished for. And now it was coming true!

Matt Ishida was toast.

Both anxiously waited for the moment they could triumphantly saunter down the steps of the plane with Ishida in handcuffs, ready to hand him over to Agent Jones. Jake gave his associate a sly wink that said one thing: Maybe Agent Jones would reward them with promotions for successfully completing this assignment. This day was looking in their favor.

"Get up, Ishida. It's time to see Agent Jones. Enjoy your last few minutes of your "agent" status and of employment." Thomas mocked.

Jake snickered. "I hear there are some openings at the fast food place down the street from headquarters. Or...there might be an opening as a garbage collector in New York City."

The blond gave off a bored yawn, looking at the two with sleepy eyes. His haughty smirk dominated his expression and the two wanted to wipe it clean.

_Be as rebellious as you want. You'll be looking like a fool soon._

The plane came to a halt, and the three individuals inside gathered their belongings. Jake's phone rang and as he talked, his face lit up. "Uh huh…yes, sir. We'll be there in thirty seconds. Yes, sir!" He shut his phone, turning to grin at the blond. "Boss just called. He's waiting for you outside."

The man made no movement, and it continued to irritate the two agents. "Silent like a man walking to his death. That's what you are, Ishida." The three exited the plane, greeted by Agent Jones and a couple of other high-ranking officials, most likely there to interrogate Agent Ishida once they got back to headquarters.

"Yamato Ishida, never did I think I'd see the day when you'd cross the FBI. You've embarrassed us and hurt our mission." He paused, as if waiting for Matt to say something. "Take off your hat and show some respect, Ishida. Even though you've made a mockery of us, show some dignity." The blond refused to speak. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

A faint smile appeared on his face as he reached up to his eyes and took out the cerulean contacts. His sparkling green orbs twinkled with amusement. "Yeah I do have somethin' to say to y'all: I've always wanted to visit DC! Are we plannin' on visiting the big guy at the White House...."

* * *

"Lucas is probably in so much trouble right now."

"I hacked into the database." Matt replied. "He's being held in custody while Agent Jones sends out a bulletin for my capture. But Luke knew what he was getting into. He was quite cool with the idea, particularly after I offered him a nice going rate in addition to a free plane ride there. And he told me that he always wanted to go to New York see the Capitol," he added, trying to justify what he'd done.

Sora's face was hard to read. Matt anxiously awaited a response, hoping she wasn't that mad at him. "When I first met you, I _never_ saw this coming. But I never saw you as a nice guy, genius or potential lover. I guess I'm learning more about you everyday."

He grinned again, pulling her into his arms and giving her another kiss. "You're not what I anticipated either, Sora. But I'm very happy you're the way you are and that we ended up the way we are. Now, though, we need to figure out who this Beauty Queen Killer is and save the day. _Then_ we can go learn some more about each other."

She slapped him lightly on the arm for what he was alluding to, but her smile betrayed her attitude. "Flirt. Where are you going to be hanging out at? Going into the stands would be like walking out into your death. Jones probably has a bunch of spies out there, in addition to Tai and the others."

"I'm going to chill in Mr. F's office for awhile to check how the manhunt for me is going and to cover any trails I may have left. Then I'm going to hook up my laptop in the coatroom down here, watch you and hope to God that we can figure out 'who dun it' on time."

"Sounds good. Be careful, though. I'll call you on this," she motioned to her necklace, "if I need…wait, it'll attract the others' attention. How will I get in touch with you if I find out something or if you do?"

"I've got that covered. I ran a little errand after I made my escape from the FBI," he joked. The blonde's hands brushed against her neck, taking off the heart necklace and replacing it with a nearly identical one, this one being a shiny golden color. "It's linked to the one I bought for myself. I can relay information to you when you're out on the floor."

"Are you sure these won't interfere with the ones the others have?"

Matt gave a confident nod. "We can try them out, though, just to prove my point." He walked over the doorway and whispered something into the speaker. Sora's face heated up at the comment and this time, she did give him a harder slap on the arm. "Ouch…I take it you heard me."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Don't _you_ have somewhere to be?"

"Ladies!" It was as if God was listening into their conversation. "We have twenty minutes before show time. Get in your places. No more dawdling around!"

"That's my cue," Sora muttered the unnecessary words. "Don't do anything stupid."

Matt fought back a laugh. "Would I ever?" She wisely chose to hold her tongue, and he gave up, knowing she wasn't going to play along with his little game. "Yes, Sora, I'll be careful but make sure you are as well. You're a walking target. Always be on your toes."

"Aren't I always?" she coyly asked, reaching up and kissing him lightly on the lips. "Keep in touch."

"Of course,"

"No more standing around, ladies!" Mr. Fujiyama's voice called out. "It's time to get this pageant underway…"

* * *

The music was cranked up to the highest volume, and the opening bass beats of "Eye of the Tiger" thumped over the speakers. Excitement littered the air. Audience clapping and cheering interrupted parts of the song as sporadic screams and shouts sounded for certain contestants. The incredible amount of light shining on the stage raised the room temperature by nearly ten degrees.

_Why do women choose to do this?_

Matt sat, staring at his laptop screen, with an amused smile. He resided in Mr. Fujiyama's empty office, having picked the lock on the door and now had hacked into Izzy's computer program and the main security database. While he watched the pageant unfold, of course. _To catch criminals, sometimes you have to become one._

His style of work was somewhat unorthodox. Matt studied criminology and law at Harvard and heavily added courses in advanced math, code breaking, psychology, sociology and computer science, in addition to every other advanced course that would compliment his major. Yes, they'd been challenging, but he'd thrived off the pressure. Unfortunately, though, it hadn't successfully fed his hungry curiosity. He wanted more; he _needed _more. With that, he did the first thing that came to his mind.

Upon entering the FBI, Matt realized that he needed another outlook on crime if he wanted to be the best he could. The blond decided to take some action about it instead of sitting around. But the ideas he had in mind weren't exactly "FBI approved." He went on this mission in secret, seeking out fellow co-workers who would think nothing of his shenanigans. He'd ask those in the web area if he could try out their newest, most highly-protective programs to make sure everything was running efficiently when in reality, he only wanted to see how long it took him to break into them and send viruses their way. Matt's genius was remarkable, and it didn't take him long to accomplish his unsanctioned work.

_I hope it's the same for this._

The voice of the television announcers came through his speakers, muffled a bit by the cries he was hearing from the live audience. _It's just about Sora's time._ "Miss New York!" the studio announcer shouted into his microphone.

Sora stood on her designated spot, smiling out to the crowd and listening to the cheers and applause. Matt's computer flashed on the FBI agents, all cheering and shouting for her while trying to remain inconspicuous. _They're not doing that great of a job._ "Sora Lynn Rogers, Miss New York, just graduated—_with honors—_from New York University. She is pursuing a career in special education awareness and teaching with the hopes of, one day, starting up her very own school for the mentally and physically handicap."

Gennai hadn't lied when he said he could come up with some good descriptions for Sora's personality. She had transformed into this Sora Lynn lady. But just for the night. Then, after this, she'd be back to normal, beautiful, slightly cynical, quick-thinking Sora.

And he was waiting for it to happen.

The dancing continued as more contestants were introduced. Matt zoomed in on Sora and laughed at her expression. It was a smile—a forced smile—but a smile nonetheless. She didn't seem to be enjoying herself as much as Mimi or Catherine, but she still bore some sort of positive facial feature. The blond decided to change angles and targets. He focused in, instead, on Tai, Izzy, Joe and Davis.

The three sat up in one of the upper balcony boxes with, from what Matt picked up, nearly thirty other FBI officials. Scanning Izzy's list of important information, he came to conclude that fifty FBI agents were in attendance, not counting his invisible appearance. They were joined by another twenty San Antonio police officers, all in civilian clothes and spread out in the crowd. _Though Izzy's computer gives me exact coordinates. I'm surprised he didn't encrypt things better. It was child's play cracking into them._

A commercial break interrupted his gaze as all the ladies had been introduced and were now in the back to get a few drinks of water or a quick pick-me-up from the assortment of fruits, vegetables and meat and cheese platters on the table in back.

"Well, you didn't trip or anything like that."

Sarcastic laughter. "I came damn close. How's the view from where you are?"

"Not bad," He didn't have to worry about being heard where he was at; no one was in hearing distance of him, but he understood her hushed tones. "I was watching our friends, and I don't think they're in any ideal location should something arise. Come to think of it," he clicked on the map that showed everyone's locations, "I can't find anyone backstage besides you. Apparently, they think you have it covered."

"_We_ have everything covered, though I don't think they know about you being here."

"Let's hope they don't." Matt lied, choosing not to tell the redhead that the bulletin regarding Matt had been sent via e-mail, word of mouth and as a conference call to their other officers. He switched to a view of the backstage area. "Looks like you're being called to head back. Good luck…"

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time to narrow our field of lovely young women down to ten." The host, a well-known talk show host Atsuki Homasaki, dramatically waited as a black-haired male in his mid-twenties handed him an envelope. "In my hands I hold the names of the lucky ladies who will go on to compete for the crown and the scholarships. In no particular order, those moving on in the pageant include: Miss Minnesota!"

Sora was genuinely happy, applauding rather loudly and joining in the loud cheers for Gwen. She was glad one of her friends made the final cut. From her eavesdropping sessions with Matt, Sora knew Gwen—along with most of her other friends—had done well in preliminaries.

"Miss Arizona!" She politely joined in the clapping. How was she going to react when they called her name? Sora knew she wouldn't be full of incredible ecstasy at the thought of her name being called. She wasn't into the whole beauty pageant thing. And, of course, she all ready knew she would waltz right into the finals.

"Miss New York!" This was her chance to act. Sora shut her eyes and then opened them as the cameras and lights shone on her. She covered her mouth with her hand as if it was a complete shock and honor for her name to be called. Girls around her swarmed to her, wrapping their arms around her and mumbling jumbles of words Sora wouldn't even try to understand, though she knew they all rivaled the term "good luck" and "we're so proud of you." Managing to escape the clutching of hugs, Sora tried to confidently walk up to stand next to Miss Arizona. She was doing her best not to laugh at how successful her act had been as she stood, patiently waiting for the next girls to join the elite ranks.

"Miss Texas!" Jun let out a triumphant shriek, light tears slinking down her face. The Majestic Theater exploded with noise as the home state's contestant, once again, made the final cut. The cheers were exuberant and were still going as Jun stood next to Sora and hugged her as well. "Miss Hawaii!"

It was a similar process for all the rest. Likewise the same was true for the rest of the girls: "Miss Georgia…Miss Mississippi…Miss Washington…Miss Nebraska…and, the final contestant who will go onto compete is…Miss Massachusetts!"

Yolei managed to make her way down to the front of the stage with the other girls after going through the ceremonious traditions of hugs, kisses and congratulatory statements from the other forty-two women. There were tears being shed behind her, but Sora knew she needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

She stood posed with the others, waiting while the television announcers relayed information off to those at home. She was still having a hard time believing that she was here, standing in front of millions of people in a beauty pageant. That had kind of fallen to the back of her mind with everything regarding Matt, the FBI, Matt, the Beauty Queen Killer and…did she say Matt?

The girls were ushered off the stage, and Sora and her friends immediately met in a group hug. "This is going to be so freaking fantastic?" Jun shouted out.

"I'm so happy we all made it!" Mimi answered, eliciting nods from the rest.

"But it doesn't look like we have time to gab right now," Yolei looked around the room. "We have to change for the next part of the pageant."

Sora rolled her eyes, not at all looking forward to the next part: the swimsuit competition. _Well, the sooner it starts, the sooner it ends. _"She's right. We'd better get ready."

With one more hug, driven by Mimi, the girls all went their separate ways, moving to the dressing rooms provided for them. Each girl was given her own split off stall and was told to change at fast as humanly possible while keeping appearances. "Why the long face?"

"You'd better not have a camera that's able to see me right now, Ishida."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Takenouchi."

"I really don't want to know what you're dreaming."

"Funny. Your humor never ceases to amaze me. So, how are things at ground zero? Nothing's been happening in the audience and such yet."

She pulled off her top, hurriedly trying to find her swimsuit—rather the swimsuit Gennai'd chosen for her to wear. She fumbled with it but successfully managed to win the battle and put the—thankfully—one-piece on. "It's odd; I'd expect this Beauty Queen Killer to strike, but apparently he or she is lying low for the…"

"AHHHHHHH!"

"Shit…"

"Sora, what's wrong. I heard a scream. The whole audience had to have heard it. What's going on? Sora…damn it, Takenouchi!"

The redhead's hands flew to her mouth the moment she saw what had happened. She instantly recognized the voice; Catherine wouldn't scream like that unless something was wrong. While she would occasionally shriek for joy, it was nothing like this flat-out fearful shout that shook the walls. _Something's happened._ "Matt, you'd better get down here as fast as you can…"

**A/N:** So the Beauty Queen Killer has finally struck. Will Catherine be okay? More importantly, is she the last victim or only one of the first? Guess you'll just have to read and see. This chapter was basically a setup for the two concluding chapters, but I did bury some bits of important information in here. Hope you guys and gals picked up on them, but if not, it'll add to some of the surprise next chapter. Next chapter…well, hopefully it's up faster than this one. I'm doing my best to work on things: two colleges applications are done, two letters of acceptance have been received, one more to send in, about twenty scholarships to apply for, but no idea where I'm going to go to college at. Life sucks. Lol. Please review and make things a bit brighter for me and let me know what you think about this chapter, what you liked and such and what you think will happen!


	14. And the Winner Is

Undercover

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!

**Yes, I am alive everyone. And I'm planning to make up for lost time in the next few weeks…hopefully. Well, the site won't let me upload so I'm doing things a little unconventionally. I had a document saved on here already, and I just replaced it with this text. So here's hoping it works! Oh yeah, and I do some jumping between characters and places in this chapter, just for the record.**

Thanks to: stormsight, Kay, unknown, and Kat, and all the other reviewers.

Dedication: **Brenda** for probably being this story's number 1 fan times infinity and for all the friendly threats. Keep in mind I know where you live too.

Chapter 14: And the Winner is. . .

This was it.

He'd never dreamed things would turn out this way. When Agent Jones first told him about the mission, this image didn't come to mind. There was action, adventure, and drama and success. Things were exciting and eventful. Everything was straight from the next Oscar-winning movie.

_We aren't supposed to be sitting up in a crowded balcony—where there is no freaking room to breathe—watching a bunch of hot girls dance._ The most exciting thing that'd happened to him in the last three hours was when the girls had come out to dance. But even then he'd been too preoccupied to really care.

Tai always had hated whiners. But now, that's all he felt like doing. It was boring. It was hot. It was slightly nerve-racking. It was uncertain. It was boring. It was all, hopefully, building up. It was annoying. It was boring. It was almost pointless.

Did he mention it was boring?

Seeing Sora's _enthusiastic_ rendition of the dance had successfully knocked Tai out of his very foul mood, but as things went on, he was slowly slipping back in. Sure, he'd led the cheering when her name was announced, and she, in _complete shock_, stepped forward to join the others in the top ten, but that had been about all that'd elicited anything more than the stern look that graced his face. Even Mimi's selection into the top ten didn't do anything for him.

This wasn't what they were supposed to be doing. Was it? Shouldn't they be out there right now, hiding backstage and monitoring everything around them to know exactly when the Beauty Queen Killer would strike? Tai definitely didn't approve of Agent Jones' game plan. But if he chose to question it, would he end up the same as Matt?

Matt was most likely being interrogated, yelled at, probably spit at and stripped of his FBI badge. Or so Tai had thought nearly two hours before. But that was before he, and the others on the FBI, realized Matt had pulled a quick one on them. _He'll be in even more trouble now._ Tai knew the blond would be facing serious consequences once he was tracked down. There was no way he could avoid it. However, until that happened—something Tai hoped would take quite some time—he prayed Matt was out there fighting the good fight and figuring out some way to pin the murders on one of the suspects before anyone else got hurt. _Maybe Matt and Sora were right about things._

He didn't like being a sitting duck, particularly when he could be out doing things that could help the cause. It didn't look like the others around him were minding the situation too much. Some were lounged in their chairs, scoping out the area and waiting for the top ten girls to get back on the stage. Others chatted good naturedly about the girls, situation with Agent Ishida, and anything else to pass the time. And Izzy…

"Dude, this is no time for solitaire!"

The computer whiz glanced up at his friend. "It's not my fault I'm bored. What else am I supposed to do?"

Tai slammed the laptop shut, missing the look of horror on Izzy's face. "Not play solitaire of all things. . ."

"AHHHHH!"

The auditorium had been rather noisy up until that point. But at the sound of a bloodcurdling, scared-out-of-the-mind scream, everyone hushed instantaneously. Tai stood up, peering over the balcony wall in search of the victim. He soon realized his mistake, _their_ mistake. _It's backstage. There's no one camped out down there. Whose stupid idea was this?_

Izzy too seemed to get the message. "There are guards down in the main auditorium. They'll be able to get there quickly."

"They'll call us down if we're needed," Davis answered. "If not, they'll report it as soon as they get a chance, and we'll know what happened."

"I don't care what they do. It's what _I'm_ going to do."

"Tai," Joe tried to stand up to reason with him, "calm down. What are you doing?"

He glared at the men around them, and all shrunk back from his icy stare. "I'm doing what I get paid for. . ."

* * *

This was it.

Sure, the Beauty Queen Killer had struck before and had caused considerable damage in different areas, but this was the first time the killer had done so in front of others. Matt bounded down the stairs, taking them two or three at a time, and hoping to God he didn't somehow trip and tumble down them. He was so concerned about getting down there and figuring out what was going on before anyone else got hurt…particularly Sora.

"Sor, what's going on?"

Silence.

"Sora? Sora, damn it! Talk to me!"

Matt did not like being ignored one bit. T.K. constantly did it to him when they were younger as a way to prove a point. While he knew the redhead—stubborn as she was—wouldn't do that now, it still thoroughly bugged him, especially given the circumstances.

He flew down the last set of stairs, barreling through the open door into the main room where everyone was crowded near the food table in the center of the room. Still in his disguise, Matt knew the FBI officials who had apparently decided it was finally time to do their job wouldn't take any notice of him. He was not dressed in incriminating colors nor out of place; the other flower delivery guys were still here, as well. And if questions were asked, he would not be noted as someone who had been here before. _No one_ had ever seen him before. _At least in this get-up. _

The now-brunette searched the growing crowd, eyes trained for Sora's red hair. After a moment of searching, he finally found her perched on the ground next to Catherine. Though her back was to him, he immediately could guess her demeanor. Everyone around them was slowly backing away, as if listening to orders barked out by a confidant dictator. She was in her "control" mood, the one she got when she just oozed power and authority. Matt knew that look all too well, and though he wouldn't admit it to her, he was kind of jealous of just how well it worked. _It definitely gets a better response than any of my glares. Dude, stay on task; it's no time to be daydreaming about a girl when there's a murderer somewhere in the vicinity._

Sora carefully guided Catherine through the breathing process, slowly calming the hyperventilating woman down and getting her somewhat out of the intense shock she appeared to be in moments before. "What's going on here?"

Mr. Fujiyama, accompanied by two men in tuxes, burst into the middle of the room. From his prior digging, Matt knew the men accompanying him were chairmen on the board responsible for the competition. _The board Mr. Fujiyama reports to._

_I'd better keep my eyes open here._

"What's going on?" Mr. Fujiyama panted out. He looked all around, surprised at the amount of people here and the state they all appeared in. "We all heard a scream; it was impossible not to hear it."

All eyes focused on Catherine. Matt rolled his own, knowing that, especially after being attacked or roughed up or whatever had happened to her, Catherine was probably not in the best state to be talking right now. Fortunately for her, Sora found her voice. "She was attacked, Mr. Fujiyama."

"Attacked?" one of the men looked dubious, as if questioning how that could possibly happen. "But security. . ."

"Security did nothing." Sora was on fire now. Matt had seen that pent up anger directed at him before, and he knew the men were in for it if Sora wasn't able to calm herself down soon. "We were all changing, getting ready for the swimsuit segment—_if you couldn't tell_…" she trailed off, cheeks heating up as she looked down at the one-piece swimsuit she found herself wearing.

The only thing she was wearing.

_And she most certainly does not look bad…focus!_

Sora had regained her wit. Though, luckily for her as her temper was still at boiling point, it seemed the same could be true for Catherine. Well, she had regained her wits for the temporary instant. "I think I can take over, Sora Lynn. But thank you for helping out. I owe you."

"Don't worry about it," the redhead gave her friend a hug, and Matt could tell she was genuinely concerned about Miss Georgia.

"The story please, ladies," one of the men tapped his watch expectantly. "As touching as this is—and as happy we are that you are in one piece, Miss Georgia—the clock is ticking away."

"Right, I expected that." Catherine's voice was somewhat shaky, as if serving to contradict the in-control exterior she was wearing at the moment. Matt shook his head, wondering how long her façade would end up lasting. This was only the first bit of added pressure after the attack. There was still the aftermath she'd have to deal with if she decided to continue with the competition. _I'd better keep a close eye on her. She's going to be even more vulnerable now._

"So anyway," Catherine continued again, "I finished getting changed into my swimsuit and everything. I figured get in, get out; I'd have time to check myself over in the large mirror out here before everyone else got out here, and since I'm keeping the same hair and make-up from the opening, I had nothing to worry about, right?" She looked around her. "Wrong, apparently. So I get out here and all, waiting patiently for everyone else to meet me here. I hear these footsteps—and they were loud footsteps, nothing like the light ones we should have with the shoes we have on. I turn to look and see who's clobbering up to me, and there's this _ugly_ man. He's got dark clothes on and like a nylon or something covering his face. But that so didn't cover the fact that he needs plastic surgery or something to get rid of whatever malady is plaguing him. He told me to bow out of the competition, say I cheated or something, broke an ankle, couldn't go on with it…make up some kind of excuse or he'll just have to leave a permanent one on me. That's when I freaked. Screaming was the only thing that came to mind. He tried to rush me—I ducked to avoid him, but I broke a nail in the process…anyone have a fake nail I can put on? Okay, I'll stay with the story," she rolled her eyes at Mr. Fujiyama, who had motioned for her to get back on track. "He heard footsteps of people coming and took off sprinting in that direction."

Matt's eyes followed her finger to the exit on the right side of the stage. _There's guards stationed outside every exit, checking identities and not letting very many people through. There's no way he could have escaped…which means…he's still somewhere in the building._ The agent felt his eyes shift back to the girl who was getting more and more questions thrown at her now that she finished her story. _She gave them a good outline of the plot, but the details are all missing. In order to figure it out and hopefully crack this before anyone else can get hurt, I'm going to need to talk to her._

He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard some arguing in the background now. It appeared the time for questions was now over, and those in charge were, for the time being, content with what she said. "I understand you want to partake in the competition, particularly as you've made it this far and with the scholarships and title at stake, Miss Georgia, but you have to be careful," Mr. Fujiyama studied the girl. "Your safety is the number one priority. I don't think it's the best idea for you to continue with this pageant, given everything you've been through and the added elements that are going to come into play if you continue in it."

"Be realistic, sir," one of the men in suits called out. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for her. She is in the top ten women in America out of the hundreds and thousands who tried for this spot. Look at everything that's at stake."

"I understand that." Mr. Fujiyama paced back and forth. "And I want her to have a chance for the scholarships and the title of Miss America. But I'm more concerned about her safety. She's more at risk than the others because she has already been attacked once by the Beauty Queen Killer. That may pose the risk of making her an easier target than the other women, if he or she strikes again."

The other man didn't seem to know who to agree with. "I say you each pose some good arguments, but the fact of the matter is that we don't have much time to delay. We've already pushed an extra round of commercials through. People in the auditorium are starting to wonder. Soon the nation will be starting to wonder. And it'll be no surprise that this incident—yes, we all know it's true—will make the morning headlines in every paper. Journalists live and breathe gossip. We need to figure out what's going to happen and figure it out now. The only logical suggestion is to ask you, Miss Georgia."

"I agree," Mr. Fujiyama injected. "You can either choose to continue on in the pageant and see what happens from there. Or you can opt out of it now, and stay back here with a bodyguard supplied by the FBI to make sure no danger befalls you again."

Catherine glanced back and forth from person to person, eyes then darting to Sora, her friends, and the other contestants all clumped around her. "I came here to compete and that's what I'm going to do. I thank you for the offer of protection, though. I will accept it, if the offer stands, the moment I'm cut from the pageant, or if I win, the moment I am crowned. But I don't think I'm the only one who'll need the protection."

The grim look on Mr. Fujiyama's face surprised Matt. _If he was the Beauty Queen Killer, he'd want her to be in the competition so he could eliminate her. But then again if he'd already eliminated her, he wouldn't have to worry about her. I wish I'd paid more attention back in psychology. Mr. Fujiyama's still a suspect, but it seems like he truly cares about the safety and well-being of the girls. I may be looking a bit too far into things, but I don't think you can fake that kind of feeling. _

"I guess you'll be going back in then. But if something arises, a bodyguard will be immediately assigned instead of the terms you stated. And I will not hesitate to get a few more bodyguards down here to help supervise things."

_That'd be my cue to exit. _As quietly and unnoticeably as he entered, Matt snuck back into the corners of the room, adamant on getting Catherine alone and questioning her in more detail. There was a key element missing from the puzzle, and he knew it was needed in order to pin the title of Beauty Queen Killer on someone. _But for now, Sora, it's all up to you. . ._

* * *

_"I can't believe she was attacked,"_

"I know. Well, at least they didn't go for the prettiest. _That's obvious._"

Sora rolled her eyes at the comments floating around her. She tapped her foot impatiently, willing the clock to speed up and move faster. Sure, her nerves were part of the reason for her demeanor, but she knew they weren't the main reason. _If I had it my way, I'd get out there, get back in here and work on the case with Matt. That's what's important. I can't let another one of my friends get hurt._

The top ten girls were all crowded together on one end of the stage, waiting for the band to start playing and announcer to say their names. But at the moment, the host was trying to transition the show from the long gap while explaining things away to the audience, both live and on-the-air. "I tell you, I'll never understand women. Apparently, one of them freaked out and let out this high-pitched scream when she saw one of the other contestant's swimsuits. Word on the street…or at least what I've heard from the stage hands is that next year, the pageant's looking to only buy that type."

The audience laughed at his dumb joke, and he continued on with one more to lighten the mood up a little bit. "That was lame."

Sora smirked, making sure no one was in close enough proximity to question why she was supposedly talking to herself. "I've heard worse."

"Hanging out with Tai it wouldn't surprise me."

She rolled her eyes. "Be nice, Matt. What's up? Have you picked up anything new?"

Sora could hear some typing in the background. "From what I've picked up, the FBI has finally gotten some sense knocked into them and now has guards stationed closer to us. And they're sending for one to watch Catherine. But they're still not in any ideal location. And I'm running a search on the top ten contestants. I want to know if there's anything particular that may set one of the girls apart and make her the next target."

"You know," she murmured back, "that's probably a good idea. It's a pity we hadn't thought of that before."

"But there's something else?"

"Hit me," Sora responded, keeping watch out of the corner of her eye on the monitor to see how much time she had left before having to go out. "But make it quick; I've got to be out there in the next few minutes."

"I got this idea. . ."

Sora groaned. "Is this what you said to yourself when you decided to escape from the FBI?"

"I thought you said you were short on time? Besides, I'm being serious. I just want your blessing on it cause it kind of concerns you."

"Let's hear it then."

"No interruptions, please." He waited, as if expecting her to say something. When she didn't, he continued on. "I want to talk to Catherine on my own and see if I can get more information out of her. You and I both know that her accounts weren't full of details; and those details could provide us with the key we need."

"How does that concern me?"

He was waiting for that. Now, the question of how to say it came into play. "The only way she's going to let me and actually talk is if I use my credentials. That will mean letting another person in on it. And I may have to blow your cover as well, just in order to get this information."

Sora could see it would not be an easy choice. On the one hand, this whole game of incognito was about secrets. Right now, she was living and dying by them. Matt too. If her secret got blown and Catherine let it spill, the consequences could be dire. But if he didn't talk to her and didn't let her know this stuff, she would be too hesitant to speak. She might create an even bigger problem, thinking he was there to attack her when he was really there for her protection.

_So what's the solution. _

"Ladies! Report to stage left immediately. When Mr. Homasaki says your name, go out just like you practiced," one of the stage hands called out.

"Sora? I know you have to go but. . ."

"Use your best discretion, Matt." Sora hurried over to where the girls were rounding up. "I trust you, remember that. You and I may have to bend a lot of unwritten rules tonight. But as long as the intentions are for the best…just do what you have to."

Matt smiled, and though she couldn't see it, she could tell he was letting a rare one break his normally cool exterior. "The same to you. And, I may be a bit biased, but I definitely think you're the most beautiful women out there, and if I was a judge, I'd choose you."

Sora fought off a blush. "You got me already; you don't need to flirt."

"It's true, though," he replied back with all sincerity. "Knock them dead out there. . ."

She smiled to herself, knowing she had to be grinning like an overexhuberant child. But did she care? In the midst of all the chaos, trouble, nerves, and turmoil it was nice to be complimented and, if only for a brief few minutes, act as if this was just another day, in another place without so much riding on tonight.

Gwen, the first person named to the top ten, was the first to go out. As the guest musical group The Fray launched into their number "Over My Head (Cable Car)", Sora waited patiently for her turn. Miss Arizona left next at the proper time, and Sora knew she was next. She had no idea what to be prepared for. This was much different than the preliminaries. This was much different than anything she'd practiced with Gennai. Hell, this was much different than being out there in the opening because this time she was actually alone.

"Miss New York. . ."

_Here it goes._ Sora stepped onto the stage and nearly froze as the lights hit her and the applause rung around her. She never really realized how many people were in the auditorium until she was out there by herself. In a group of fifty plus, yes, it did look like a never-ending sea. But right now, all on her own, walking over to the front of the stage, Sora felt like she was being paraded in front of a very large, very intimidating army.

_I hope I don't trip._

As if knowing her emotions and feelings, Matt's voice quietly spoke through her necklace. "Smile and loosen up. The judges love you—trust me; I'm looking at the records right now. You placed fourth highest in the prelims…and that's saying something for a girl who got roped into being in this pageant."

Though it was impossible to respond to this comments because of the circumstances, Sora's smile reflected her answer. "I'm proud of you, too." She counted to ten as the instructors had told them all to do before moving onto the next block. "Listen up; I found out a few things from my digging. The Beauty Queen Killer is apparently looking to eliminate the competition and clear the path for one of the contestants. That's why none of the attacks have been really serious."

Sora paused once again and forced a smile as the crowd began to cheer again. _You know, I've always been good at multitasking, but paying attention to Matt is really hard to do right now, especially with these lights. It's hotter than hell up here, and I'm even wearing a swimsuit._ Sora squinted in the lights, noticing how there were some pointed at the group and some hanging behind them.

As she shifted to her spot next to Miss Arizona, the redhead couldn't help but notice the light's booth. The men and women inside apparently were getting the message, and were working hard to get things fixed. But Sora's attention shifted to something else, something…peculiar. Nearly thirty feet above the light's booth…well, there was no way…was there? She could've sworn she'd just seen someone up there. _But there's no seating up there or any stairs or paths leading up there. I didn't even know the stairs went up that high. I thought the light's booth was the highest thing here. Maybe I'm just seeing things in the light._

"…she's been targeted already, as has Catherine."

_Shit. Now what was he saying?_

"I take it by your slightly confused look that you weren't paying attention to much that I was saying, were you? It's okay. Just keep an eye on Gwen, Miss Nebraska—Oikawa's niece—and yourself. If my predictions are right, you three could be the next targets. And ouch! Catherine doesn't look so hot out there."

It didn't take much to see that Matt was right. Miss Georgia's legs shook as she crossed the stage, and she looked like a deer caught in a set of headlights, standing in front of America. Her smile tried to cancel that look, but even it couldn't redeem it.

_Poor Catherine. But this looks like only just the beginning. . ._

**Thirty minutes later **

"In my hands I hold the envelope that narrows it down to five lovely ladies," the host spoke as much to the crowd as he did to the ten anxious women before him. They all held hands, standing in a line in their evening wear dresses and wondering which would continue on and which would be eliminated.

_Okay, this is definitely nerve-wracking. And I'm not even all gung-ho about this. I wonder what's going to happen if certain people get cut. Catherine doesn't stand a chance in hell anymore. She could never get herself back together after the shake-up, and I think the judges could tell that. From what Matt told me, they didn't inform the judges about the details of the matter. That means no pity points. _

"In no particular order I present your top five. Miss Nebraska!" The pretty blonde stepped forward, giving a shy smile to the crowd and beaming down at the judges. Watching the interaction, Sora could tell Oikawa probably wasn't being as unbiased as he should as a judge. _But would he rig the whole competition just so she could win? Would he stoop that low?_ "Miss Mississippi!"

Mimi let out a little shriek, and Sora couldn't help but smile along with her friend. This was what Mimi wanted after all. She had done very well in the opening rounds, but it was hard to know for sure if she and the others had gotten in on technical default with the sure elimination of two of the ten girls. "Miss Hawaii!" The brunette walked forward to the cheers of the crowd. "Miss New York!"

Sora wore a forced, gracious smile as she joined the others in line, feeling like she was stepping to her death wish for being there. "And finally…Miss… Massachusetts!" Yolei rounded out the last of the group, and Sora felt now, more than ever, that she was signing her death certificate. Three of the five girls who were cut had been attacked.

The redhead was almost certain Gwen should've had a spot in the top five. _But after the incident…well, it's the same as Catherine. _Matt had successfully predicted one of the next targets, and Sora couldn't help but feel guilty they were unable to stop the Beauty Queen Killer or prevent him from hurting Gwen, too.

The girls had been waiting in the wing for the evening wear segment this time. It didn't hit Sora that something was up until Gwen sneezed for the second or third time. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," her voice sounded a little bit scratchy. "I felt perfectly fine before the pageant began. I don't think nerves could make me feel as yucky as I do now."

"What's all wrong?" While the others had all backed away disgusted, as if Gwen carried the plague, Sora approached the girl, concern running deep in her eyes. _I don't think this is pure coincidence._

Gwen rubbed at her arms. "I can't stop sneezing and scratching. I…oh no!"

At once, all eyes focused on what Miss Minnesota was pointing to. Her arms were covered with small red bumps and indents. "You've got hives!" Miss Arizona cried out. "Stay away from me!"

Gwen hung her head, admitting the diagnosis was true. "They just came out of nowhere."

"Are you allergic to anything?"

"Nothing that I can think of that would be here…except, except certain types of flowers. Like daffodils. "

Jun put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Did you get any before the show started?"

"I don't know," Gwen admitted. "There were large mixtures of things. I never had a chance to look with all the chaos and rushing for time. But anyone who would've sent flowers to me knows that and wouldn't do that."

As the girls around her gossiped about the subject, Sora could only shake her head at their naïveté. _Anyone who isn't the Beauty Queen Killer. . ._

* * *

Catherine slammed her dressing room door shut. With a heavy sigh, she slumped into the chair seated in front of the mirror provided for her. _Well, I tried. I came here to win, but thanks to that Beauty Queen Killer, had my chances shot down._

Right now, she wanted nothing more than to head back to the hotel, take a nice long shower, and after catching up on her rest, head back to her home state, away from the drama she found here. But she knew that wasn't possible as there were still the end ceremonies to look forward to. _I hope one of my friends wins. There are some of them in that final group that don't deserve it. Gwen should've been in there in place of one of them. And there's no way that Miss Nebraska should've made it. Can you say obnoxious? I wonder if the Beauty Queen Killer will attack. . ._

CREAK!

Her hands grabbed the desk ledge in front of her, knuckles turning white from grasping it so hard. _Relax, maybe it's just one of the other contestants._ She turned in her seat, but was not rewarded with the sight of one of her friends.

Part of a body…a leg…a leg of a man. . .

Catherine stood on two shaky feet, clutching a hairbrush, the first thing she saw that remotely resembled a weapon, and approached the door, ready to nail him when he entered. The body walked all the way in, and as he turned to quietly shut the door. . .

"What the hell?"

Catherine had shut her eyes, not wanting to see what came next. But his exclamation broke her out of her trance. The man, probably around her age with brown, blondish hair, was rubbing his temple and trying not to wince. "I'm not afraid to scream."

"Please don't; I have enough of a headache without that adding to it. And you needn't shriek anyway. I'm not here to attack you."

"Then why are you here?" Her hands rested on her hips and she stared the, admittedly, pretty boy down.

"Agent Matt Ishida, FBI. I'm here to ask you. . ."

"They're assigning _you_ to be my bodyguard?"

"No, I'm working on more important things."

The girl stared at him. "From what everyone in charge has been saying, security is supposed to be the number one concern, especially given the circumstances. But apparently you don't agree." Catherine narrowed her eyes. "How do I know you're who you say you are?"

"Would you like to see my id?"

"Yes, in fact I would."

Rolling his brilliant blue orbs, Matt dug into his pocket for his wallet and badge. "There. Make you happy?"

She studied the badge and information, occasionally glancing up to look at him. "Dude, you have blond hair in the picture."

"So?" Matt couldn't believe this woman. _She can be more stubborn than Sora gets when she's mad._ "I'm undercover at the moment."

"But you chose to become a brunette? No offense but that look just doesn't suit you. And why's everyone jumping on the brunette bandwagon? Seriously, it was okay when only a few were going dark-haired but now it seems like _everyone_ is. What's originality, huh?"

"Undetected plagiarism."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind," the man replied, glad he'd confused her and shifted the conversation. "Look, are you convinced I'm who I say?"

"Yes." She was still slightly suspicious though. "Haven't I seen you before?"

"Probably," He didn't even skip a beat before answering. _I'm surprised she hasn't made a connection to the club yet._ "So can I ask you some questions about what happened earlier in the competition when you were attacked?"

"I guess so. But I already told my story."

Matt gestured for her to sit back down. "So what did the guy who attacked you look like?"

"He was wearing all black and had a nylon-thing over his face."

He raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Anything else? A few specifics really wouldn't hurt right now."

"The guy was thin and tall, probably even a little taller than you. He had a sort of high-pitched voice. It really didn't seem to fit him." Matt jotted the notes down on a napkin, the first thing he could find to write on. "Oh yeah…and he had these weird bandages on his hands. You know, if I'm not mistaken, I'd say he had some on his face, underneath his maskish thing."

That caught the agent's attention. Matt moved over to the desktop she was sitting at and took his laptop computer out of the bag he'd brought with him. Plugging it in, he accessed the files he and Sora had been using for their "unauthorized" work. "Did he look like this?"

A picture of the supposed Black Widow showed up, and Catherine's gasp gave Matt all the information he needed to confirm it. "So he's the Beauty Queen Killer?"

"No, he's working for someone else. And it's my job to figure out who he's working for." Quickly, the man typed in all the notes he'd gotten from Miss Georgia. "Did you happen to see where he went after you screamed?"

"I assume he went to the exit and ran. I mean, wouldn't you do that?"

Matt looked at the girl. "No, I wouldn't. There were guards at the exit. He would've been sealing his fate."

"Well," she hesitated, "maybe he didn't run to the exit. I thought I saw a door open about halfway down that hallway. But there weren't any doors there. I just assumed I was imagining things or that it was the exit and the guards were coming into see what was the matter."

_That just may be the key I'm looking for._ Matt pulled up the blueprints of the Majestic Theater from Izzy's computer. Zooming in, he studied the layout of the building and was discouraged to find there was no such door in that place. "Maybe. . ."

Both turned as the door began to open again. In walked the person Matt had least expected to see and one of the people he didn't want to find him.

_Shit._

The new inhabitant nearly did a double take as he saw through the disguise. "Matt?"

Taking a deep breath, Matt stepped forward. "Tai, before you say anything. . ."

"Look, Matt. As of right now this is a whole different ballgame with two sides: the side that wants to sit back and the side that wants to stop the Beauty Queen Killer. Screw Agent Jones. I don't know how you got back here or how you avoided all the agents here, but, you know what, that's on the bottom of my priority list right now. I'm here to help you and Sora. I can ask questions of the two of you later."

In the past two weeks, Matt Ishida had made a lot of conclusions regarding one Tai Kamiya. _I have officially met the one person who is a bigger mystery than I am._ But mixed in with all the goofy, dubious, foolish, absurd, and downright strange interpretations of the spiky-haired boy was one he had just come to now. _Tai is very smart. I think he and I are going to be good friends._

"Um, okay, I'm just going to pretend I know what the two of you are talking about." Catherine scratched her head. "But, um…new dude? Who are you? Haven't I seen you before? And are you two talking about Sora Lynn?" It was as if a light bulb suddenly went on in her head. "Hey, aren't you the guy Mimi hooked up with?"

Matt fought back a smirk as Tai tried not to wince. "Mimi and I have been hanging out a lot." He glanced at Matt. "Is it okay to tell her about me and about Sora?"

"Why do you keep calling her just Sora?"

"She knows stuff she probably shouldn't anyway; we may as well." He turned his attention to Catherine now. "Everything you hear in this room is strictly confidential. If any of this gets out, the lives of many will be in danger and you will not be on the good side of the FBI."

Catherine's' face was blank. "I like to gossip as much as the next person, but give me some credit. I know when to keep my mouth shut. I promise not to talk as long as you fill me in on what the devil's going on with you two and how Sora Lynn is connected to it all."

Matt held up his hands and directed the girl's questioning looks to the other man in the room. Taking a deep breath, Tai wondered how he could explain this. "I'm Tai Kamiya with the NYPD. Some of my colleagues and I, along with Agent Ishida from the FBI, were brought in to stop the Beauty Queen Killer. Our superior officer from the FBI settled on a plan to plant an agent, or in this case a soon-to-be agent, as a contestant. You know this person as Sora Lynn Rogers, Miss New York."

Catherine gasped, hands going to her mouth in shock. "So…so you mean Sora Lynn's not Sora Lynn?"

"Try Sora Takenouchi, NYPD officer and most likely FBI agent in the very near distant future."

Tai exchanged a nervous glance with Matt. It looked like the girl before them had a lot more questions ready to swing their way. Neither knew how much more they should tell the girl, or rather _wanted_ to tell the girl. "Matt? Come in, please, Matt. . ."

They were saved in the most unlikely of ways.

"Speak of the devil. . ." Tai mumbled, thanking the beauty pageant gods for Sora's timely request. Catherine perked up at the noise, wondering where it was coming from and just how this would fit into the things she'd been hearing about.

"Sora? What's up?"

"Matt. . ." He knew something was up immediately. She sounded hesitant and uncertain, almost fearful. "It's happened again. The Beauty Queen Killer has attacked again."

That was not the news he had wanted to hear. "It's not you is it?"

"No. He got to Mimi."

"Mimi? What happened to her?"

Matt found himself almost pinned to the floor at that comment. Tai and Catherine had been listening intently in silence up until that point. But at the name Mimi, both lunged at him, tackling him down in their haste to know more.

"Sora, what's going on? Is Mimi alright? Where is she? Let me know!"

"Tai? What are you doing…" She let out a gasp, "…was Matt caught?"

"He's with Catherine and me right now; I was assigned to be her bodyguard, and Matt was in here questioning her when I came. Now tell me about Mimi."

The three were dead silent as she talked, all struggling to hear her. "Mimi had a cup of some herbal tea in her dressing room and had been drinking it in between numbers to help her voice stay strong. She was supposed to sing an Italian aria for the talent segment. It happened five minutes ago. We were waiting to go out there, and she tried to speak and nothing came out. Yolei felt her forehead and it was burning up. Miss Nebraska's pre-med and diagnosed her with some form of a swollen throat, probably caused by something in her drink."

"So someone took her drink from the room and put something in it?" Matt was the first one to find his voice.

"That's the thing," Sora paused, and her puzzled manner was evident. "The drink never once left her dressing room. And the only people who've been in it—because guards have been placed in front of each door—are the final five contestants and Mr. Fujiyama. But Mr. F stood by the door the whole time, going nowhere near the drink."

Catherine didn't have to have studied to become a police officer of FBI agent to figure where this was going. "So it was one of the contestants in there."

"Well, we can eliminate you," Tai wisely said, "and Mimi, obviously. So that leaves us Miss Hawaii, Miss Massachusetts—but isn't she you guy's friend too?—and Miss Nebraska. Matt, can you run a check on all of them on your computer?"

The blond was one step ahead of him, already typing in the first contestant, though he had a suspicion of his own on which it was. "Don't worry about it," Sora's voice crackled through. "I already know who it is."

"Miss Nebraska?"

"Miss Nebraska," Sora repeated. "She was too quick to jump in about everything, too knowledgeable on the subject at hand, too happy that it had worked, and just too guilty. I don't think any of the others could tell; no one knows the things I do."

There was a quiet gap for a few seconds as the reality of the situation sunk in. "You know, why am I not surprised it was her?" Catherine spoke up. "I never liked that girl. She was too fake and super obnoxious. If I had to hear one more time about how she was valedictorian of her high school class, won this apparently prestigious award from Creighton University where she graduated _with lots of honors_ and is now in medical school there, and how that Oikawa dude is her uncle, one of the judges, and this amazing architect who helped renovate this place, I think I could scream. Or hang myself. The second option sounds better."

Matt stopped listening before Catherine ragged on about her death options. The wheels in his mind were spinning. Two weeks ago, the jigsaw puzzle had been laid out for him and the others with minimal pieces. They'd put together the border first, getting some of the inside pieces together but struggled with the harder parts. He and Sora had ventured closer to completion with their extra investigating but were missing that one last puzzle piece to finish it off.

_And thanks to Catherine, we now have it._

"Sora, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That we just found the Beauty Queen Killer?"

"Definitely." Matt grinned to himself. "Thanks for the extra information, Catherine. It's going to help us nail Oikawa and his niece."

"But I don't understand."

Matt held up a hand. "You'll find out when everything's over. Knowing anymore could put you in some more danger." Another piece of the puzzle clicked in his mind. "You said Oikawa helped remodel this place?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Remember how you told me you thought you saw a door open up and the person who attacked you go into it?"

"Yeah?" She still looked confused. "Oh! Do you think Mr. Oikawa built an escape route or hiding place of some sort?"

Tai, who'd been awfully quiet while letting all the information come together, finally spoke up. "That would be a very feasible idea. I was wondering about that too when they told me your story and assigned me to be your bodyguard. I wonder where it leads."

Sora let out another gasp. "The area above the lights booth!"

"Huh?" the two males asked, not sure what she was getting at.

Catherine on the other hand understood right away. "Did you see that too, Sora Lynn…I mean, Sora? I thought I saw someone walking up there, but I didn't understand how."

"Me too. That's where the two accomplices, Tut and Black Widow are probably hiding out, waiting for the winner to be crowned now so they can cause one last bit of mayhem if Miss Nebraska isn't crowned."

Matt stood up, renewed with a source of motivation and determination. _This news had more of an effect on me than I thought it would._ He felt his pockets as he was ready to leave the room. _Damn it._ "Tai, can I borrow your gun just to be safe? I don't know if I'm going to need it, but I don't want to be in a situation that could go bad without it."

Tai rose to his feet as well. "I'm going with you, man. I'm not going to see another woman I care about hurt."

"Your place is here, Tai. You need to stay here in case one of Oikawa's flunkies is stationed down here to attack again. I'm under the radar, and I need to push this one in Agent Jones's face."

After a moment of hesitation, Tai unstrapped his gun from its holder. "Be careful, man. You never know what can happen. But don't be afraid to call for help."

"Thanks," the agent murmured. He walked over to wear his laptop was plugged in. "I've tapped into Izzy's bugging system on here. You should be able to access almost anywhere in this theater from it."

"Can I let the others in on what's going on?" Tai finally remembered the others

"It probably wouldn't be the smartest thing. But you can tell them that you've been hearing some rumors backstage about one of the contestants being involved with things. Just kind of plant the idea in their head. You don't have to say any more or any less."

"Okay," Tai dubiously answered.

"It's for the best, Tai," Sora quickly replied. "Oh shit; it's almost my turn. Good luck, Matt. Keep Catherine safe, Tai. Catherine, keep Tai out of trouble."

Matt nodded to the two in the room, tucked the gun, in its holder, into his sweatshirt and headed for the door. "Wait a minute!" Catherine exclaimed. "Sora said there's a guard stationed at every door. There's no way you're going to get out, especially with a gun."

Tai looked between the two of them and then stared at the door for a few seconds. "Guys, I have a crazy plan. And, given the circumstances, I'm not afraid to attempt it. You guys with me?"

Catherine and Matt both scooted closer, and the lone female had no idea what she was in for…

* * *

_Breathe. You can do this, Sora, but you have to concentrate. That's the only way you're going to nail this, or at lest make the judges believe you are playing some masterpiece. But is it worth it? I mean, we already know who the Beauty Queen Killer is. It's not like I really still need to compete in this competition. But I just can't blow my cover like that. I'm stuck here, and that means I have to "compete" and make it seem like I really do want this title._

Sora squinted in the light again as she waited for Mr. Homasaki to introduce her and her talent piece. Of the contestants, she was the fourth to perform. Miss Nebraska started things off with, in Sora's opinion, a very screechy alto saxophone solo. The piece sounded really difficult to play, and it made the woman hit a couple very high notes, notes that Sora thought sounded awful together. _Course I may just be bitter because I know what she did to Mimi and that her uncle is the Beauty Queen Killer._ Mimi came next and her performance was doomed from the very start. Her voice could barely be heard, and she had problems even hitting the low notes. Everyone had tried to convince Mimi not to take part in things, to bow out gracefully, but she wanted to go down as a fighter. Next came Miss Hawaii, who, in typical beauty pageant fashion, performed a baton routine. Sora knew Yolei was going to do a violin solo after her.

So it left her. . .

"Now performing a piano piece entitled "Yamora" is Miss New York, Sora Lynn Rogers."

The clapping started, and Sora took another breath, this one deeper and more powerful. _I can't let myself get all worried about the Beauty Queen Killer. That's Matt's job for right now._ Thinking of the blond made her remember something he had told her when she first started preparing for this number with Gennai.

_"Just imagine that it's only you in the room. Then imagine two people walk in. They are your parents. You're determined to show them everything they've missed—putting it all together in one song." _

Her fingers began to dance across the grand piano, and this little distraction managed to clear her head of the activities surrounding her for the temporary time being. . .

**10 minutes later. . . **

When she signed up for this job, she had not expected to get as into it as she was now. _Probably because I somehow made it into the top three with one of my friends and the enemy. _Sora stood on the stage, between Miss Nebraska and Miss Massachusetts, waiting for the host to give them directions on what was next to come. Two ladies joined them on stage and maneuvered Yolei and Sora over to a soundproof booth with headphones for them to put on so they would remain in the dark about the final question.

"Good luck," Sora mouthed to her friend, genuinely hoping Yolei would be crowned the winner.

"Back at you," the girl replied with a smile.

Right now, she was trapped in this soundproofed bubble, one that prevented her from knowing what was going on in the outside world. _I have no way of knowing if Oikawa's going to launch an attack right now._ She wouldn't put it passed him, especially because she thought he'd launched another one at Catherine during the talent segment, though Matt passed it onto her that it was just a diversion so he could sneak away from the guards. _Very tricky, but I don't like being kept in the dark._

That's exactly how she felt at the moment. While she couldn't hear anything outside of the room or inside, for that matter, the redhead felt a vibration near her neck right around where her necklace was placed at. _Matt…_

Sublimely, the girl adjusted her headphones so the very bottom tip of her ear remained uncovered. "I've found the door and made it up to the extended balcony. There are two people up here, presumably Tut and Black Widow, but they're sitting around, waiting for something. I bet they're waiting to make sure Miss Nebraska's crowned the winner. I don't see any guns close by that could be used to fire at the stage. They were probably given orders not to because it would create too much of a conspiracy. But…there's something they're holding onto over there. I don't know what it is. I need to get closer. Good luck down there. That's all from here. . ."

Sora longed to tell him to be careful and to wish him good luck, as well. But under the circumstances, well, she obviously couldn't respond. The door opened up, and one of the girls came over to her. "It's your turn, Miss New York."

She exited the soundproof walls and walked towards the host. "How are you, Miss New York?"

"I'm doing well, thank you."

"Alright, I'm going to ask you one final question, and you have one minute to answer it."

"Okay."

The announcer cleared his throat before beginning. "There's been a lot of animosity in the United States due to the war in Iraq, the battle for immigration reform, eminent domain, and other political problems. Most of us are neither making the country's decisions on what to do nor are politicians who can speak and be heard. In your opinion, what role can you and others as typical American citizens do to help end this animosity and make your voices heard?"

_Stay in character._ The question wasn't a hard one; there was just a lot of information. Sora knew she would be fine once she started talking. It was just a matter of building and expanding on one point. "I've learned a lot of things from the special needs children I've been working with over the past few years. But the most important thing they've taught me is that ignorance is bliss. When one is ignorant, he or she takes forgranted a problem or an issue and only sees a blind view of it. They are either only willing to look one direction or not care at all. To escape that problem here in America, we need to educate ourselves on all sides of the matter, not just the side we support. That will help us smooth over relations. And it can also build up our own knowledge and confidence in the matter, leading to us taking actions like writing letters to our senators and representatives and getting involved in interests groups and such."

"Thank you very much, Miss New York. Take your place over there." Sora put on another fake smile for the crowd before walking over to stand next to Miss Nebraska. _The easy part's over now. Now it's time to nail the crooks._

"May the best woman win," the redhead boldly whispered out of the side of her mouth.

Miss Nebraska looked surprised at being addressed. "Yes, may the _best_ win. . ."

* * *

He could hear everything clear as a bell up here. And seeing wasn't much of a problem either, though, at the moment, he was almost directly above the contestants' heads. The two figures—Arukeni and Mummy, as he heard them refer to each other—standing no more than one hundred meters to the right of him were holding sharp knives and scissors, holding onto a series of cords that had been redirected from the light's booth to right in front of them. Matt had a very large suspicion he knew where this was going. _And I'm not going to let it happen._

"Ladies and gentlemen. It is now the moment we've all been waiting for." Craning his neck from his perch, Matt could see all the women on the stage—_perfect targets—_with the top three in the very front. "A representative from the accounting firm Riesenberg and Co. will now hand me the envelope with the verified results."

"That is correct," the man replied. "These have been checked and double checked for precision and accuracy."

"Thank you, Kenny. And now, the results. Our second runner up, winner of a $15,000 scholarship is…Miss Massachusetts!"

Cheers went up in the air, along with sighs of disappointment as Yolei humbly accepted her flowers. She mouthed another 'good luck' to Sora before heading off to stage right, where the runner-up would stand by her.

"And now, you're first runner-up, recipient of a $20,000 scholarship is…Miss… Nebraska! That makes our Miss America 2006 Miss New York, Sora Lynn Rogers. . ."

**A/N: Come on; how many of you saw that one coming? Well, detail jam-packed chapter. I thoroughly hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And I promise lots of excitement in the next one. And I apologize for any grammar/spelling errors…I proofed this rather quickly in hopes I could get it up. But I'll probably go back later and fix anything I missed. Please, please review…I love to know what you guys think about things. Thank you for your patience and dedication! **


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